Rearranging the compartments: the financing and delivery of care for Australia's elderly

Aged care policy in Australia underwent rapid change following the 1996 change of federal government, although continuing to emphasize changing the balance of aged care away from residential care toward community-based care and improving quality of care. This paper examines these policy directions with reference to two specific areas: the differentiation of funding arrangements for the care and accommodation components of residential care, and the targeting of services in community care. In both cases, funding arrangements have been used as a prime mechanism for redrawing the boundaries between different components and levels of care. This process of compartmentalization appears likely to increase the diversity of the Australian aged care system in the future.