‘Stuff of nightmares’: calls for help surge by 50% after Australia launches aged-assistance tool

Exclusive: Assessors unable to override algorithm-based tool, leaving people at risk of being pushed into aged care homes before they are ready

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Requests for assistance to aged care advocacy services have surged since the government introduced a controversial assessment tool for home care support, with one woman in her 80s describing it as “the stuff of nightmares”.

Guardian Australia previously revealed that aged care clinicians and support workers have raised serious concerns about the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), an algorithm-driven system introduced in November to determine eligibility for aged care services and funding levels.