New Zealand Aged Care Report Sets Out 40 Recommendations for Reform

Costello said New Zealand already has good aged care delivered by dedicated workers, but the way services are funded does not properly account for future investment needs.

New Zealand's aged care system could face major changes after an independent Ministerial Advisory Group delivered a report containing 40 recommendations designed to create a more connected, accessible and financially sustainable model of care as the country's population grows older.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the report provides valuable information for future policy and funding decisions, with the Government now asking the Ministry of Health to work alongside other agencies and develop detailed advice on its recommendations. No final decisions on the proposed reforms or their funding have been made.

The Government established the advisory group to examine problems affecting aged care, including an outdated funding model, the division of services into separate parts of the health system and the growing investment that will be needed as demand increases.

Report Calls for a More Connected Aged Care System

The group's 40 recommendations are built around a vision for an integrated system where older New Zealanders can receive the right level of support in the right setting and move between different types of care as their circumstances change.

Costello said New Zealand already has good aged care delivered by dedicated workers, but the way services are funded does not properly account for future investment needs. The existing structure can also make services difficult to navigate when people need to move between home support, residential care and other parts of the health system.

Creating stronger links between aged care and wider health services was one of the areas the advisory group was specifically asked to examine, alongside ways of making access fairer and building a system capable of handling rising demand over time.

Funding and Sharing Care Costs Under Examination

How New Zealand pays for aged care is central to the review. The group was asked to consider what funding model could keep services sustainable and how costs might reasonably be shared between the Government and people receiving care.

Those questions carry significant consequences for older people and their families, aged care providers, government finances and the wider health system. Costello said the scale of the issue means the recommendations need careful consideration before ministers decide which changes should become government policy.

The Ministry of Health will now work with other agencies to assess the proposals and prepare advice that can support those decisions, giving ministers a clearer picture of the financial and practical consequences of possible reforms.

Government Points to $446 Million Funding Increase

While work on longer-term changes continues, the Government says funding for the aged care sector has increased by a total of $446 million over the past three years, supporting ongoing services and operational improvements while broader reform options are developed. Funding arrangements for home care remain part of current discussions, with this year's funding uplift for the sector still under negotiation.

The advisory group's report now creates a detailed starting point for the next stage of that work rather than an immediate change to how care is delivered or paid for. The Government will need to decide which of the 40 recommendations it supports, how any new system would be funded and how changes could be introduced without disrupting the services older New Zealanders already depend on.

For families navigating aged care, the eventual decisions could shape everything from how easily services are accessed to how people move between different levels of support and how the cost of that care is shared as New Zealand's ageing population increases demand.