Australia’s ombudsman finds aged-care algorithm unfair
The investigation says the law bars assessors from correcting even clinically inappropriate funding decisions and calls for a review of the legislation.
Loading… Բեռնվում է…
The investigation says the law bars assessors from correcting even clinically inappropriate funding decisions and calls for a review of the legislation.
Australia’s Commonwealth ombudsman has found that the algorithm used to determine older people’s care funding is unreasonable, unfair and lacks human oversight. Ministers have since outlined their response: six recommendations accepted, an independent review commissioned and a delegate review pathway already introduced, without restoring assessors’ power to change decisions themselves.
The investigation began in April after public and media concerns, including Guardian Australia reporting that older people were left distressed and without adequate home support. Under the government’s mandatory Integrated Assessment Tool, assessors meet older people and complete a questionnaire about their needs. An algorithm—a set of computer rules—then determines whether funding should be allocated and at what level.
In a joint statement described on 27 October, Australia’s aged care minister, Sam Rae, and health minister, Mark Butler, said the government would consider the report carefully and was acting on some recommendations. Of the report’s 10 recommendations, six were accepted. Two, including proposals to let assessors override decisions and amend aged-care legislation, were noted rather than accepted.
Rae said a new pathway already allowed an incorrect assessment outcome to be referred to a delegate for review. He said the response allowed human discretion to overturn assessment decisions that were not fit for purpose, adding another layer of human oversight.
The ombudsman’s 104-page report, published on 26 October, found no meaningful public explanation of how the algorithm turns assessment information into decisions. Australia’s Department of Health and Ageing had not followed the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme’s recommendations on transparency in automated government decisions. It had also failed to enforce contractual quality controls or verify assessors’ mandatory clinical qualifications.
The first National Security Strategy in two decades commits to deeper European cooperation as Canada and the European Union discuss closer ties.
2 min
The report also challenged the department’s account of the system’s development: trials and consultation concerned earlier versions and earlier legislation, with no meaningful consultation on the version introduced. Ombudsman Iain Anderson said assessment providers’ inputs were critical to the algorithm’s results and required more effective departmental oversight.
The department announced a review pathway in July allowing assessors to refer wrong decisions to it. Referring a case to a delegate remains different from letting the assessor who meets the older person correct the outcome: the law still bars assessors from overriding the tool’s funding recommendation, even when it is clinically inappropriate.
Anderson said he was concerned that the escalation pathway would not necessarily allow clinically inappropriate decisions to be corrected. He has called for legal changes so assessors can make those corrections themselves. The report recommends a comprehensive review of the legislation governing needs assessments and the rules underpinning the algorithm, and Anderson has called on the government to address the significant legal issues it identified.
The government has commissioned an independent review to examine how the Integrated Assessment Tool assesses and prioritises people. It has not accepted the recommendations for direct assessor override and changes to aged-care legislation.
Ukraine’s ombudsman plans food and medical aid for about 2,000 people in the Russian-occupied city on October 30, with mine clearance still under way.
3 min
The change applies across pension schemes from 28 October 2026. Where the member died before 75 and had enough remaining allowance, delays beyond two years no longer make lump sums taxable.
4 min