Let's look at what the postponement means in practice and how aged care providers can make the most of the time now available. We’ll also cover how Epicor is sequencing key system changes to support providers through this adjustment, maintaining momentum while offering flexibility to test, configure, and transition in a controlled and informed manner.
Why the Act Is Changing
The Aged Care Act 2024 represents a fundamental rewrite of the legislative framework that has governed aged care since 1997. This is not a minor policy update—it’s a shift to a rights-based approach that formalises and embeds the principles of the Royal Commission into legislation. The Act aims to make care services safer, more transparent, and more tailored to individual needs.2
Among the headline changes:
- The introduction of a new regulatory framework that shifts compliance from transactional reporting to outcomes-based accountability.3
- Simplified and consolidated service types, including Support at Home, which replaces Home Care Packages (HCP) and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC).1
- Revised financial contributions and strengthened transparency in provider charges.4
- A new assessment model and clearer distinctions between responsibilities of providers and consumers.5
These reforms are meant to promote dignity, choice, and fairness—but they also require significant operational shifts for providers.
What the Postponement Means
The postponement to 1 November does not change the overall direction of reform, nor does it remove the need for providers to modernise their processes. Instead, it offers a four month extension of the current arrangements while the Government refines key aspects of the transition.
For providers, the delay affects several practical areas:
- Client Transition Plans: Clients currently receiving care under HCP or STRC will remain under existing programs a little longer. While some providers had already begun planning transitions in June, those activities will now need to be realigned to avoid premature conversion or billing under new models.
- System Configuration and Testing: Many technology partners—Epicor included—had already released updates to support the 1 July transition. Now, providers have an extended testing window. This means more time to:
- Train staff
- Review data flows
- Validate billing and funding processes
- Ensure support plans map accurately to the new Support at Home classification model
- Compliance Readiness and Operational Planning: Regulatory compliance will still require updated workflows and documentation. Providers should continue preparing their governance arrangements and care documentation practices to reflect the new quality standards, even if enforcement is deferred.
- Communication with Consumers: With expectations already set around a 1 July shift, providers must now reframe messaging to care recipients and their families. Transparency around what’s changing and when will be essential to maintain trust.
What Providers Should Do Now
Despite the revised timeline, now is not the time to pause. Providers should use the extended window to do the following:
- Complete Internal Readiness Reviews6: Map out where your organisation stands across clinical documentation, rostering, billing, and reporting. Identify which workflows will need to change and what support staff will need to operate confidently under the new regime.
- Validate System Updates in a Pilot Environment: Epicor has already started to deploy screen updates and data fields to reflect the new care structures. A "commencement date" setting governs the visibility of these changes, allowing providers to begin some testing in a pilot environment ahead of November.
These updates include:
- Revised client intake screens
- Updated classification and budget management interfaces
- Expanded online claiming support aligned with government integration points (e.g., PRODA)
Note that many of these screens require a live API integration from the Australian Government to populate the data. Currently the government does not provide a sandbox for providers to test the API8.
- Review Contribution and Billing Models: The move to Support at Home introduces different funding categories and consumer contribution structures.7 The delay provides time to clarify:
- How fees will be communicated and consented to
- How contributions will be tracked and adjusted over time
- Whether internal finance systems can reconcile government subsidies with direct billings efficiently
The patch release schedule includes support for individual contribution tracking and real-time claiming, which can reduce manual handling when deployed.
- Stay Informed and Engaged: Government guidance continues to evolve. Interim service models, trial regulations, and detailed program specifications are still being released. Providers should monitor announcements from the Department of Health and Aged Care and participate in forums and pilot programs when possible.
How Epicor Supports Your Transition
Epicor understands that these reforms are not merely technical—they affect every part of a provider’s operation, from rostering and budgeting to compliance, care planning, and service delivery.
To support this, Epicor is rolling out updates in carefully sequenced patches. Each update builds on the last and aligns with the Government’s staged timeline. Rather than bundling all changes into a single release, Epicor is:
- Providing toggled access to new screens and workflows that can be activated on configured commencement dates
- Updated DMT (Data Migration Tool) templates to help providers load pilot data
- Maintaining support for both existing and incoming models until the mandated cutover
- Encouraging customer feedback to address issues and fine-tune fixes with a final patch in September, before the new regulations go into effect.
This staged approach supports real-world realities: not all providers operate at the same pace, and readiness must be assessed in terms of both systems and staff capability.
Final Thoughts
While a four-month postponement might sound short, it creates meaningful space for deeper preparation and more controlled implementation. Providers should use this time to:
- Engage deeply with system updates
- Test key workflows
- Educate internal teams and update documentation
- Clarify consumer communication strategies
The underlying policy agenda remains firm: a simpler, more transparent, and consumer-focused aged care system. The work to prepare for that future continues—just now with a little more time to get it right.
Epicor remains committed to helping providers meet the requirements of the new Act through timely, reliable updates and a collaborative, informed support approach. If your team has not yet begun testing new Support at Home workflows, this is the moment to start.
Links to additional resources cited:
- https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/news-and-updates/new-aged-care-act-start-1-november
- https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/aged-care-act/about
- https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/new-model-for-regulating-aged-care
- https://agedcaresteps.com.au/latest-news/the-aged-care-act-what-every-australian-financial-adviser-needs-to-know
- https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/single-assessment-system
- https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/new-aged-care-act-a-digital-readiness-checklist-for-providers
- https://www.health.gov.au/node/49571
- https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-04/new-aged-care-act-a-guide-to-digital-changes-for-providers_0.pdf
Jacob Thompson is a Sr Product Marketing Manager at Epicor, where he leads the go-to-market strategy for ERP solutions. He holds a master's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and lives between California and Hawaii. He enjoys mountain biking, sailing in the San Francisco Bay, and traveling.
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