Ombudsman finds Labor's aged care algorithm unreasonable and unfair
The ombudsman condemned Labor's Integrated Assessment Tool as a technological black box that makes unchallengeable decisions on aged care.
The commonwealth ombudsman has attacked Labor's tool for assessing aged care needs. The tool is unreasonable, unfair, and has no human oversight.
The Integrated Assessment Tool decides what level of home support older Australians receive. Assessors cannot change its decisions, even when they are wrong on medical grounds.
The ombudsman's report found no public information about how the algorithm works. It called the tool a 'technological black box'.
The investigation found the government ignored recommendations about openness from the robodebt royal commission. The government failed to talk enough with users.
It did not check standards used by assessors. The ombudsman says the law must change.
Assessors must be able to override wrong decisions. Major legal issues need urgent attention.
- 104 pages
- Report length
- Iain Anderson
- Ombudsman
- Integrated Assessment Tool
- Tool name
Why it mattersOlder people are being denied adequate home care based on decisions they and their carers cannot challenge or understand.
AustraliaThousands of older Australians may have received inadequate care assessments from a flawed system the government has not fixed despite internal warnings.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 h ago
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