Week 3 of ATSA’s campaign to stop the implementation of the National Assistive Technology Loans Scheme!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has already taken the time to contact their federal MP. Your support is invaluable – the more MPs we reach, the more effective our campaign will be. If you haven’t had time to reach out to your MP yet, it’s not too late. Please read on for further information about how you can help.

This week’s newsletter includes:

•      An update on our recent meeting with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
•      This week’s call to Action: Help ATSA Secure a Meeting with the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors
•      Request for your individual feedback to support our campaign
•      Last week’s call to action: Contact your Federal MP!
•      Points to refute arguments around Support at Home Participants still having choice and control over how they access AT.

Update on meeting with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Yesterday, our CEO, Serena Ovens and I met in Canberra with senior representatives from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – including Greg Pugh, First Assistant Secretary, and Rowena Sierant, Director of Assistive Technology & Home Modifications. We raised serious concerns about the proposed rollout of the National Assistive Technology Loans Scheme under Support at Home.

Here is what we learned:

•  No state or territory will be ready to start delivering services under a loans scheme when the Support at Home Program goes live on 1 November.
•  From 1 November, equipment will only be available under the overarching Assistive Technology and Home Modifications Scheme via direct purchase or private rental.
•  The Department has cabinet approval to continue exploring a loans model but acknowledged the need to consult further with stakeholders and examine alternative models that already exist under other service systems, including the NDIS and Department of Veterans Affairs.

Pleasingly, Greg and Rowena were both open to hearing our proposal around what an alternative model might look like.

We stood firm on our position, stating:

We want to work collaboratively with government to co-design an open market delivery model for direct purchase and rental of assistive technology. This model, underpinned by nationally consistent standards, will:

•      Deliver better value for government
•      Align with established practices that already exist under other service systems
•      Protect the rights of older Australians to access high quality, individualised AT from a supplier of their choice
•      Ensure the future sustainability of the AT sector.

We were encouraged by the fact that both Greg and Rowena welcomed this conversation and committed to further discussions – including with Minister Rae’s office – to explore alternatives to the loans scheme.

ATSA will continue to lead this campaign, ensuring the voices of industry and older Australians are heard, and that solutions put forward are sustainable, efficient and centred on choice and dignity.

This week’s call to Action:

Help ATSA Secure a Meeting with the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors

Despite persistent efforts, we were unable to secure a meeting with the office of Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae during our visit to Canberra. Our initial meeting request was submitted to his office on 9 July and time is running out!

This week, we are asking members to take action by phoning Sam Rae’s office. The purpose of your call is simple: to highlight that ATSA has been seeking a meeting with the Minister to discuss concerns with the proposed loans scheme, and to encourage his office to facilitate this meeting as a matter of priority. Your support will help ensure the voice of our industry, and the older Australians we serve, is heard at the highest level of government.

How you can help:

1. Phone Sam Rae’s office on (02) 6277 7720 and select option 4 from the automated menu.
2. When you speak to staff, introduce yourself and your business.
3. Politely express support for ATSA’s request to meet with the Minister.
4. Let me know if you have been in touch with the Minister’s office so we can keep track of how many people have engaged with this call to action.

Suggested talking points:

•  I am calling as a member of Assistive Technology Suppliers Australia.
•  ATSA has been seeking a meeting with Minister Rae to discuss serious concerns with the proposed National Assistive Technology Loans Scheme.
• Our industry does not believe this scheme will deliver good outcomes for older Australians, suppliers or government, and that better alternatives exist.
•  ATSA has been working constructively with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and would welcome the opportunity to brief the Minister directly.
• I encourage the Minister’s office to prioritise a meeting with ATSA so this important issue can be discussed in detail.
• Thank you for standing with us and helping to make sure the voices of industry and older Australians are heard. Together, we can ensure government policy delivers choice, dignity, and value.

Request for member feedback to support our campaign

We are very keen to start featuring the voices of ATSA members in our campaign. As such, we hope you will take the time to share your short responses to the questions below. Please note that any quotes provided will be attributed to your business:

•     What impact would the proposed National Assistive Technology Loans Scheme have on your business and the AT sector?
•      What impact would it have on the older people you support?

Please email your quotes to lauren.henley@atsa.org.au as soon as possible

Last week’s call to action: Contact your Federal MP!

If you haven’t contacted your MP yet, it’s not too late. Every letter counts and brings us closer to our goal. We’ve provided a ready-to-use letter template to make it quick and easy—please add your voice if you can!

Tips:

• You can find your MP’s details using the Australian Electoral Commission’s search tool.
• Email is fastest, but a posted hard copy can sometimes carry more weight.
• If you have time, personalise your letter by including a short note on how the scheme would affect your business and clients. Keep it to two pages max though. If you don’t have time to personalise your letter, just send it as is – numbers still matter!
• If you don’t receive a response to your letter within 2–3 weeks, follow up by phoning the electorate office.
• Please remember to send me a copy of your letter so we can track which MPs have been contacted.

Points to refute arguments around Support at Home Participants still having choice and control over how they access AT

Some MPs have already suggested that the loans scheme isn’t a concern because participants could still choose to rent or buy their AT. This argument misses the point: introducing loans shifts risk onto participants and undermines fair access. We’ve prepared the following points to help you counter this misconception. If you do receive pushback from your MP, we suggest you use these points to reenforce the need for their urgent intervention:

• The Support at Home Program Manual clearly states that the AT and Home Modifications Scheme will be underpinned by a “loan before buy” principle. This means older people will be strongly encouraged – or effectively required – to use the loans scheme first, rather than being presented with genuine choice.
•  Informed choice will not be guaranteed. Many older people are new to assistive technology and may not understand the risks of borrowing equipment that hasn’t been properly tailored to their individual needs.
• Aged care providers will act as gatekeepers. The scheme puts responsibility on providers to source equipment, which creates the risk that they will push participants in a particular direction, or fail to present the full range of options available on the open market. This approach does not align with other service systems. Under the NDIS and the Department of Veterans Affairs programs, people can access private rental or purchase directly. Forcing older people through a loans-first model is inequitable and discriminatory.
• The scheme would divert significant taxpayer money away from older people themselves into new state-run infrastructure and block funding, even though the open market already provides efficient rental, refurbishment, and collection systems.
• Suppliers in the private market already manage waste, reuse and recycling through existing rental programs. A new government run loans scheme will unnecessarily duplicate these processes.
• The government argues that the loans scheme will prevent families from being left with unwanted equipment, but open-market rental arrangements already solve this problem by requiring suppliers to collect equipment when no longer needed.
•  The loans approach also risks stifling innovation and competition by centralising provision into a state-administered pool, rather than supporting the sustainable and responsive AT market that already exists.

Together, we can stop this loans scheme in its tracks!