Australia

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety ran from 2018 to 2021 and made 148 recommendations across the entire sector. Its interim report was titled Neglect — a one-word verdict on a system with long waitlists, thin staffing, and inconsistent quality. The government responded with a $17.7 billion package and, crucially, a commitment to redesign the system rather than patch it (PM of Australia).

The centrepiece is structural. My Aged Care is a true single front door: one website and call centre through which older Australians are assessed and routed into government-subsidised home, respite, or residential care, with star ratings published so families can compare facilities (My Aged Care). This is the feature most other countries lack — a single, navigable, accountable entry point.

On the home-care side, the old Home Care Packages gave way to the Support at Home program (commenced November 2025): eight ongoing funding classifications plus short-term restorative and end-of-life pathways, a defined service list, and — notably — a separate Assistive Technology and Home Modifications budget (tiered up to $15,000) so devices and home changes don't eat into ongoing care (Support at Home).

In residential care, the reforms put hard numbers on quality: a registered nurse on site 24/7, and a mandated average of about 215 care minutes per resident per day (including 44 RN minutes), tied into public star ratings (Care minutes). It's a rare example of legislating the quantity of care, not just inspecting for failures. Financing leans on means-tested co-contributions for non-clinical care with a $130,000 lifetime cap, while the government fully funds clinical care; unpaid carers are supported through Carer Payment and Carer Allowance (Services Australia).

Technology is the slower-moving piece. A national Data & Digital Strategy funds the plumbing (rebuilding My Aged Care, virtual nursing trials, a single assessment tool), while AI companions and companion robots (Andromeda's "Abi," the PARO seal) sit in small, co-designed pilots — promising, and partly motivated by a workforce gap of ~110,000 by 2036, but not yet standard care. The honest takeaway: Australia's world-leading move isn't a robot. It's the boring, powerful structure — one front door, money that follows the person, and care minimums written into law — that the US, with no equivalent, could learn the most from.