# Source Brief: Health Committee — Aged Care Inquiry Report (14 Recommendations) **File:** `02_Aged_Residential_Care/2025 - Health Committee - Source Brief - Aged Care Inquiry 14 Recommendations.md` **Source:** Health Committee — Parliament of New Zealand **Chair:** Sam Uffindell (National — Tauranga) **Report released:** 20 November 2025 **Government response tabled:** 10 March 2026 **Extracted content:** Beehive.govt.nz, Scoop.co.nz, Parliament.nz --- ## 1. Overview The Health Select Committee conducted an inquiry into the aged care sector's current and future capacity, receiving **100+ submissions** from providers, unions, advocacy groups, health professionals, and individuals. The inquiry was established in response to growing concerns about the sustainability of New Zealand's aged care system, with a particular focus on **neurological cognitive disorders (dementia)**. The inquiry made **14 recommendations** across **four key areas**: | Area | Focus | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Access to services** | Equitable access across regions, rural/urban balance, Māori and Pacific equity | | **Aged residential care** | Funding transparency, bed shortfall, dementia-specific beds, end-of-life care, alternative care models | | **Home and community support** | Flexibility of services, longer contracts, funding adequacy | | **Carers and workforce** | Respite care, pay equity, workforce planning, training pathways | --- ## 2. Political Context | Factor | Detail | | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Chair** | Sam Uffindell (National) — first-term MP, chairs committee agenda and inquiry priorities | | **Coalition dynamic** | NZ First-National coalition commitment to aged care reform; NZ First positions itself as seniors advocate | | **Government response** | Tabled 10 March 2026 — sets out Government's position on each recommendation | | **Parliamentary status** | Inquiry report is a Parliamentary document; recommendations not binding but carry political weight | | **Electoral sensitivity** | Aged care is a high-salience issue for older voters and their families | The Government's formal response to the inquiry was **tabled in Parliament on 10 March 2026** by Associate Minister of Health (Hon Casey Costello, NZ First). The response outlined the Government's position on each of the 14 recommendations, noting areas of agreement, partial agreement, and further work required. --- ## 3. The 14 Recommendations ### Area 1: Access to Aged Care Services and Support || # | Recommendation | Status | ||---|---------------|--------| || 1 | Permit rest homes to carry out Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC) assessments, subject to NASC assessors performing quality assurances within a reasonable timeframe | Government response — referred to Health NZ/Advisory Group | || 2 | Explore ways to provide culturally appropriate care and continuity of care | Government response — acknowledged, ongoing equity work | ### Area 2: Aged Residential Care || # | Recommendation | Status | ||---|---------------|--------| || 3 | Establish a reporting model that separates funding into three streams: accommodation costs, daily living costs, and clinical care costs (for transparency) | Government response — funding model review by Advisory Group | || 4 | Address shortfall of beds — consider funding/financing tools: capital grants, depreciation incentives, consent relief, anchor contracts, IFF Act 2020, NIFFCo financing | Government response — Budget 2026 provided 272,000 additional bed nights, but ACA says insufficient | || 5 | Enable more dementia beds (currently not profitable for providers) using similar funding tools | Government response — ongoing; Alzheimers NZ says insufficient | || 6 | Undertake further work on pathways for end-of-life care, including hospice care | Government response — Hospice NZ engagement | || 7 | Enable alternative care models such as the CARE Village in Rotorua | Government response — pilot programmes | ### Area 3: Home and Community Support Services (HCSS) || # | Recommendation | Status | ||---|---------------|--------| || 8 | Encourage flexibility in HCSS contracting so contractors can perform a range of tasks holistically to keep patients well and out of hospital | Government response — under consideration / contract review | || 9 | Enable retirement care village providers to deliver home and community care, and vice versa | Government response — under consideration | || 10 | Provide longer-term contracts and national consistency of funding for HCSS providers | Government response — contract review underway | ### Area 4: Carers and the Aged Care Workforce || # | Recommendation | Status | ||---|---------------|--------| || 11 | Consider setting up a regular respite care programme | Government response — Carers NZ engagement | || 12 | Work with Health New Zealand and the sector to implement longer-term agreements and certainty of funding/conditions for a sustainable workforce | Government response — workforce plan underway | || 13 | Any policy/funding changes intended to improve financial sustainability of providers must be accompanied by measures guaranteeing equal protection and benefit for the workforce | Government response — noted | || 14 | Continue working to reduce gender-based pay discrimination in the aged care sector | Government response — ongoing; NZNO pay equity claim for Bupa nurses | --- ## 4. Key Evidence and Submissions ### Submissions Received (100+) | Submitter | Key Position | | ------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **NZNO (Nursing Union)** | Mandated staffing ratios; pay parity for aged care nurses | | **E tū Union** | Care and support worker wages; pay equity | | **Aged Care Association (NZACA)** | Funding model reform; cost-of-care transparency | | **Alzheimers NZ** | Dedicated dementia funding; dementia training for workforce | | **Carers NZ** | Recognition and financial support for unpaid family carers | | **Hospice NZ** | Integration of palliative care in aged care settings | | **Retirement Villages Association (RVA)** | Resident advocacy; quality standards | | **Home and Community Health Association (HCHA)** | Home care funding reform; contract flexibility | ### Focus on Neurological Cognitive Disorders (Dementia) The inquiry placed particular emphasis on dementia care, reflecting: - **70,000+** New Zealanders currently living with dementia - Projected rapid growth as population ages - **Inadequacy of current dementia-specific bed capacity** - Need for dedicated dementia funding stream (Alzheimers NZ position) - Training requirements for aged care workforce to manage dementia-related behaviours - Interface with the **Mental Health Bill** — new legislative framework affecting care of older people with dementia --- ## 5. Government Response (10 March 2026) | Aspect | Detail | | -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Minister** | Hon Casey Costello (NZ First) — Associate Minister of Health | | **Format** | Government response tabled in Parliament | | **Overall stance** | Welcomed the report; noted all 14 recommendations; will be considered through Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group | | **Key commitments** | Recommendations to be considered through existing Advisory Group work; Health NZ funding model review; Budget 2026 additional bed nights | | **Gaps identified by advocates** | Dementia funding still inadequate (Alzheimers NZ); no mandated staffing ratios (NZNO); stabilisation funding missing (ACA) | | **Cross-reference** | Budget 2026 provided $5.5b extra health funding including 272,000 aged care bed nights | --- ## 6. Campaign & Business Relevance | Stakeholder | Relevance | | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Aged care providers** | Funding transparency and bed shortfall recommendations directly affect business models | | **Dementia organisations** | Dementia-specific recommendations are advocacy priorities | | **Home care providers** | Contract flexibility and longer-term contracts affect revenue stability | | **Unions** | Workforce recommendations support pay equity campaign | | **Retirement village operators** | Interface with aged care capacity; dementia care in retirement villages | | **Investors** | Funding model reform will affect listed provider margins (Oceania, Ryman, Arvida, Summerset) | --- ## 7. Sources | Source | URL | | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Parliament NZ — Health Committee press release | https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/committees-press-releases/health-committee-reports-findings-of-aged-care-inquiry-to-the-house/ | | Beehive — Government response to aged care inquiry | https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-responds-aged-care-inquiry | | Scoop — Government responds to aged care inquiry | https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2503/S00075/government-responds-to-aged-care-inquiry.htm | | Budget 2026 — Vote Health | https://www.budget.govt.nz | | Health NZ — Aged Care Funding Review | https://www.healthnz.govt.nz | --- ## 8. Cross-References | File | Relationship | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | `07_Bills_Hansard_Votes_and_Questions/2026 Tracker - Aged Care Funding and Residential Care.md` | Live tracker with inquiry entry and government response | | `05_Select_Committees/2026 Select Committee Profile - Health.md` | Committee structure and membership | | `03_MP_Profiles/2026 MP Profile - Uffindell, Sam - National.md` | Chair profile | | `11_Issue_Briefs_for_Campaigning/2026 Issue Brief - Aged Residential Care Funding and Political Risk.md` | Funding and political analysis | | `11_Issue_Briefs_for_Campaigning/2026 Issue Brief - International Comparisons for NZ Aged Care Reform.md` | International context | | `09_Stakeholder_and_Specialist_Groups/Submissions Library/2026 Stakeholder Submission Index.md` | Submission tracking | --- _Part of the NZ Seniors Knowledge Base — Political & Campaign Intelligence layer_ _Prepared from Beehive, Scoop, and Parliamentary sources. June 2026._