Australian states flag algorithmic aged-care tool for severe under-assessment of seniors
State health departments across Australia reported that the federal Integrated Assessment Tool, an algorithm used to allocate home-care funding, was dramatically under-assessing vulnerable older people, prompting logs of hundreds of problematic cases.
Freedom-of-one outlet documents reveal that within days of the Integrated Assessment Tool’s November rollout, state and territory health departments began compiling logs of hundreds of cases in which the algorithmic assessment undervalued the care needs of older Australians. Staff in Western Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Victoria reported that assessors could not overrule the tool, leading to ethical concerns, delayed hospital discharges and heightened pressure on carers.
WA Health director general Shirley Bowen emailed the federal health department warning that vulnerable seniors could face “catastrophic” consequences and longer wait times for support. Similar complaints were submitted by NT Health, Aged Care Assessment Victoria and advocacy groups such as Ageing Australia and Dementia Australia. The government responded by promising a new escalation pathway but stopped short of restoring immediate human override, underscoring the clash between algorithmic decision-making and clinical judgement in aged-care funding.
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