aceUnreasonable and unfair: damning investigation criticises Labor’s algorithm-based tool for aged care
An algorithm used by the federal government to assess the level of care older Australians are entitled to is unreasonable, unfair and lacks human oversight, according to a damning investigation by the commonwealth ombudsman. The investigation also found transparency recommendations from the robodebt royal commission have been ignored. The legislation must be changed to allow aged care assessors to change clinically incorrect algorithmic decisions themselves, and there are also significant legal issues with the t…
The Ombudsman found the aged care Integrated Assessment Tool's algorithm cannot be overridden by assessors even when clinically wrong, is opaque, and lacks adequate review pathways and consultation.
The Ombudsman is concerned the July escalation pathway may not fix clinically inappropriate decisions, and the legal issues were still awaiting a government response.
Evidence
- JournalismThe Guardian2026-10-26
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Truvace Impact Record TRV-2026-2255, v1: “Unreasonable and unfair: damning investigation criticises Labor’s algorithm-based tool for aged care.” Truvace, 2026-10-26. /record/TRV-2026-2255 (accessed at citation time). sha256 9641f541a95d47f3…
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