Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications) Rules 2026

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors

Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications) Rules 2026

Purpose

The Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications) Rules 2026 (the Instrument) amends the Aged Care Rules 2025 (the Rules) to ensure that individuals diagnosed with motor neurone disease are assigned the ‘Immediate’ priority category for assistive technology and home modifications supports.

The Instrument achieves this by introducing an additional eligibility criterion for the ‘Immediate’ priority category for both assistive technology and home modification service groups where an individual had motor neurone disease at the time of their most recent aged care needs assessment.

This Instrument also aligns the prioritisation approach for assistive technology and home modifications with the amendments made through the Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority) Rules 2026 which made similar amendments to the prioritisation of individuals for the classification type ongoing for the service group home support.

Outline

The Instrument amends section 87-7 of the Rules to recognise individuals who had motor neurone disease at the time of their most recent aged care needs assessment. The existing prioritisation framework for assistive technology and home modifications includes priority categories and associated eligibility criteria. The amendment ensures that individuals with motor neurone disease are automatically assigned the highest priority category (‘Immediate’) for access to these supports. Motor neurone disease is a rapidly progressive and life-limiting condition. Individuals require urgent access to assistive technology and home modifications to maintain safety, independence and quality of life as their functional capacity changes.

The amendments:

• provide an additional eligibility criterion for the ‘Immediate’ priority category for assistive technology and home modifications;
• ensure individuals who had motor neurone disease at the time of their most recent aged care needs assessment are assigned the ‘Immediate’ priority category;
• include transitional provisions to apply the amended prioritisation criterion to assessments completed on or after 1 November 2025.

This ensures that affected individuals receive timely access to funding within the classification type short-term for the service groups assistive technology and home modifications.

Background

The Rules prescribe the priority category and eligibility criteria that apply when determining access to assistive technology and home modifications. The priority category assigned to an individual determines the relative urgency with which those supports may be approved.

Prior to this amendment, the eligibility criteria for the ‘Immediate’ priority category did not explicitly account for motor neurone disease. As a result, some individuals with motor neurone disease may not have been prioritised appropriately and may have experienced delays in accessing new or higher levels of funding.

Evidence indicated that:

• individuals with motor neurone disease were waiting inappropriate periods for funding
• a substantial cohort remained in the priority queue without an appropriate priority category.

The amendment responds to these issues by ensuring that all individuals with motor neurone disease are assigned an appropriate priority category for assistive technology and home modifications (‘Immediate’) in recognition of the progressive nature of the condition and the urgent need for support.

Authority

The Instrument is made under the Aged Care Act 2024 (the Act), which provides the legislative authority to prescribe matters relating to aged care prioritisation and service access through subordinate legislation.

The Instrument is made through delegated legislation because it amends the operational detail of the aged care prioritisation framework which the Act provides will be prescribed in the Rules. The Act provides for matters relating to priority categories, eligibility criteria and access to aged care services to be prescribed in the Rules. It is appropriate that these matters are set out in delegated legislation because they are technical in nature and may require amendment over time to respond to individuals’ changing needs.

Consultation

In engagement with ministers, stakeholders (including peak bodies) have raised concerns around the need for changes to the AT-HM scheme prioritisation criteria to align with the changes made to the Support at Home prioritisation criteria for older people with motor neurone disease.

Given the confined scope of the Instrument, and the urgent need for affected individuals to begin benefiting from the amended eligibility criterion as quickly as possible to avoid further disadvantage, broad consultation on the drafting of the Instrument was not undertaken. This Instrument aligns the prioritisation approach for assistive technology and home modifications with the amendments made through the Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority) Rules 2026, which made similar amendments to the prioritisation of individuals for the classification type ongoing for the service group home support. These amendments are machinery in nature to implement a targeted and beneficial change requested by stakeholders. The Instrument does not establish a new prioritisation framework but extends an existing policy approach regarding motor neurone disease to additional service groups to address an identified gap in the operation of the prioritisation framework. Accordingly, it was considered appropriate to progress the Instrument without further consultation on the drafting of the Instrument.

Retrospective effect

Although the Instrument commences on the day after registration, it includes provisions that provide for the amended prioritisation criterion to apply retrospectively for individuals whose aged care needs assessment was completed on or after 1 November 2025.

The retrospective operation is therefore limited in scope. The transitional provision is intended to ensure that individuals who were previously diagnosed with motor neurone disease when they were assessed prior to this Instrument receive the benefit of the amended prioritisation criterion.

The retrospective operation is necessary and appropriate because motor neurone disease is a rapidly progressive and life-limiting condition, and delays in access to funded support may result in avoidable harm. Without retrospective application, individuals with motor neurone disease assessed on or after 1 November 2025 but before the Instrument commenced would be required to undergo a full reassessment, or alternatively seek reconsideration of their existing priority category decision in order to benefit from the amended prioritisation criterion. Providing for retrospective operation of this Instrument allows the System Governor to proactively change the individual’s priority category decision with minimal responsibility on the individual to take action. The transitional provision is intended to confer a benefit on the affected cohort by enabling earlier access to supports. The Instrument does not remove any entitlement or impose a new obligation on any person, and does not disadvantage any person in a manner contrary to section 12 of the Legislation Act 2003. 

The Instrument distinguishes individuals with motor neurone disease because that cohort has a distinct clinical trajectory characterised by rapid deterioration, shortened life expectancy and quickly changing support needs. The amendment addresses an identified gap in the operation of the prioritisation framework for that cohort. The gap was identified through stakeholder engagement and departmental analysis of prioritisation outcomes, which indicated that some individuals with motor neurone disease were remaining in priority queues for an unacceptable amount of time despite having urgent and escalating support needs. In that context, the retrospective operation is considered necessary and appropriate. 

Independent Review

The Instrument does not create a new standalone decision-making power or establish a separate review framework. Rather, it amends section 87-7 of the Rules by adding an objective criterion for assignment to the ‘Immediate’ priority category for assistive technology and home modifications.

The amendment is confined in scope. It turns on a single factual circumstance: whether the individual had motor neurone disease at the time of their most recent aged care needs assessment.

No separate merits review mechanism is provided because the Instrument does not confer a discretionary power of the kind that would ordinarily warrant a distinct review pathway. Instead, it prescribes part of the existing prioritisation framework applicable to assistive technology and home modifications.

Furthermore, the existing prioritisation framework is established by the Aged Care Act 2024, in particular the power of the System Governor at section subsection 86(1) of that Act to establish a priority category for an individual. This decision is a reviewable decision under section 557 of the Aged Care Act 2024.

As the Administrative Review Council explains in What decisions should be subject to merit review?, merits review is generally most appropriate where a decision involves discretion or the balancing of competing considerations affecting a person’s interests. That is not the case here. The amendment operates mechanically by reference to a clearly defined objective fact: whether the individual has motor neurone disease. 

Once that factual criterion is satisfied, assignment to the relevant priority category does not involve subjective judgment or discretion.

The amendment also aligns with categories of decisions the Administrative Review Council has identified as generally unsuitable for merits review because the amendment: 

• forms part of a broader prioritisation framework that informs access to aged care supports across a cohort of individuals, rather constituting than a standalone discretionary decision; and 
• operates automatically once the criterion is established. 

Accordingly, the amendment is not of a kind that would benefit from independent merits review. 

Impact Analysis

A detailed impact analysis was not required for this Instrument.

General

This Instrument is a legislative Instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003. 

Details of this Instrument are set out in Attachment A. 

This Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B. 

ATTACHMENT A

Explanation of the provisions

Section 1 – Name

This section provides that this Instrument is the Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications) Rules 2026.

Section 2 – Commencement

This section provides that this Instrument commences the day after registration.

Subsection 2(2) explains that information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Instrument.

Section 3 – Authority

This section provides that this Instrument is made under the Aged Care Act 2024.

Section 4 – Schedule

This section confirms that each Instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this Instrument is amended or repealed as per the Schedule. Any other item in a Schedule to this Instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Aged Care Rules 2025

Item 1 – Subsection 87‑7(1) (table item 1)

Item 1 replaces item 1 in the table in subsection 87-7(1) of the Rules, which deals with priority categories and eligibility criteria for the classification types ongoing and short-term for the service group assistive technology.

The amendment provides an additional eligibility criterion (b) in column 2 for the ‘Immediate’ priority category. New paragraph (b) provides that an individual who had motor neurone disease at the time of the individual's most recent aged care needs assessment is eligible for the ‘Immediate’ priority category for the classification types ongoing and short-term for the service group assistive technology.

The amendment ensures that individuals with motor neurone disease receive immediate prioritisation for assistive technology in recognition of the rapidly progressive nature of the condition and the potential need for urgent equipment.

Item 2 – Subsection 87‑7(2) (table item 1)

Item 2 replaces item 1 of the table in subsection 87‑7(2) of the Rules, which deals with priority categories and eligibility criteria for the classification type short-term for the service group home modifications.

The amendment provides an additional eligibility criterion for the ‘Immediate’ priority category. New paragraph (b) provides that an individual who had motor neurone disease at the time of the individual's most recent aged care needs assessment is eligible for the ‘Immediate’ priority category for the classification type short-term for the service group home modifications.

The amendment ensures that individuals with motor neurone disease receive immediate prioritisation for home modifications in recognition of the rapidly progressive nature of the condition and the potential need for urgent home modifications.

Item 3 – At the end of Chapter 15

Item 3 adds a new Part heading for clarity, ‘Part 1B—Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications) Rules 2026 at the end of Chapter 15 of the Rules.

Item 3 also inserts a new section into Part 1B of the Rules, being new section 610-1B. New section 610-1B provides that section 87‑7 of the Rules, as amended by Schedule 1 of this Instrument, applies to individuals whose aged care needs assessment was undertaken on or after 1 November 2025.

This provision ensures that individuals with motor neurone disease at the time of their assessment may benefit from the amended eligibility criterion irrespective of whether the assessment occurred before or after commencement of the Instrument, as long as the assessment was conducted after 1 November 2025 (which was the commencement of the Aged Care Act 2024).

ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications) Rules 2026

This Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Instrument

This Instrument amends the Aged Care Rules 2025 (the Rules) under the Aged Care Act 2024 (the Act) to modify the operation of the prioritisation framework for classification types ongoing and short-term for the service group assistive technology and short-term for the service group home modifications.

In particular, the Instrument:

• introduces motor neurone disease as an eligibility criterion for the ‘Immediate’ priority category for assistive technology and home modifications
• ensures that individuals who had motor neurone disease at the time of their most recent aged care needs assessment are assigned the ‘Immediate’ priority category for those supports
• includes a transitional provision to enable the amended prioritisation criterion to apply in relation to aged care needs assessments undertaken on or after 1 November 2025.

These amendments ensure that people with motor neurone disease receive timely access to assistive technology and home modifications commensurate with the progressive and life‑limiting nature of the condition.

Human rights implications

This Instrument engages the following rights:

Assessment of Compatibility

Right to an adequate standard of living

The right to an adequate standard of living, contained in article 11(1) of the ICESCR and article 28(1) of the CRPD, includes the right to adequate housing, food, water and continuous improvement of living conditions. It also requires States to ensure access to appropriate social protection and support services, particularly for persons with disabilities and older people.

The Instrument promotes this right by ensuring that individuals with motor neurone disease receive priority access to assistive technology and home modifications supports. By assigning an ‘Immediate’ priority category, the Instrument reduces delays to access funded supports that assist with daily living activities, personal care, and maintaining independence at home. This is particularly important given the rapid progression of motor neurone disease and the significant impact it has on an individual’s ability to meet basic daily needs.

Right to health

The right to health, contained in article 12 of the ICESCR and article 25 of the CRPD, refers to the right of all individuals to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. It includes access to health and care systems that are available, accessible, acceptable and of appropriate quality.

The Instrument promotes the right to health by improving timely access to assistive technology and home modifications for individuals with motor neurone disease, which is a progressive and life-limiting condition requiring coordinated and responsive care. By ensuring these individuals receive an ‘Immediate’ priority classification, the Instrument supports earlier access to supports that play an important role in maintaining physical functioning, manage symptoms, and promote dignity and quality of life.

The transitional application of the amendments further promotes this right by allowing individuals who were assessed on or after 1 November 2025 to access care sooner than would otherwise occur.

Right to social security

The right to social security, as set out in article 9 of the ICESCR and article 28(2) of the CRPD, protects access to systems that provide support in circumstances such as illness, disability, or ageing. It is essential to ensuring human dignity and social inclusion.

The Instrument promotes this right by ensuring that individuals with motor neurone disease can more rapidly access government-funded services through the assistive technology and home modifications service groups. By adjusting the prioritisation framework, the Instrument improves the responsiveness and fairness of the system, ensuring that people with an immediate need are supported appropriately.

The transitional provision further supports this right by enabling reconsideration of earlier decisions, ensuring that affected individuals benefit from the amended settings without needing to undergo unnecessary reassessment processes.

Right to the highest attainable standard of health

The right to the highest attainable standard of health is contained in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and article 25 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This right requires States to establish and maintain a system of health protection that provides accessible, available, acceptable and quality health and care services. It includes timely access to appropriate health care and support services without discrimination, particularly for persons with disability and those with progressive or life‑limiting conditions.

The Instrument promotes this right by ensuring that individuals with motor neurone disease are assigned an ‘Immediate’ priority category for access to assistive technology and home modifications service groups. Motor neurone disease is a rapidly progressive and life‑limiting condition that requires timely, coordinated and responsive care to maintain quality of life and manage complex health needs. By amending the prioritisation framework to automatically assign individuals with motor neurone disease an ‘Immediate’ priority category, the Instrument reduces delays in accessing essential in‑home supports, like wheelchairs, hoists and other accessibility-related equipment that may be required as an individual's condition progresses. This promotes safety, independence and continued participation in daily life, thereby supporting the highest attainable standard of health.

The retrospective application of the amendments further promotes this right by ensuring that individuals who were previously assessed are not disadvantaged and can access assistive technology and home modifications supports earlier than they otherwise would have. Overall, the Instrument enhances timely and equitable access to care and support equipment, thereby promoting the highest attainable standard of health for individuals with motor neurone disease.

Right to equality and non-discrimination

The right to equality and non-discrimination is protected under article 2(2) of the ICESCR, articles 2, 16 and 26 of the ICCPR, and article 5 of the CRPD. These provisions require that all individuals are treated equally before the law and are not discriminated against on the basis of characteristics such as disability.

The Instrument promotes this right by modifying the existing prioritisation process, which did not adequately account for the needs of individuals with motor neurone disease. By explicitly recognising motor neurone disease as a condition warranting urgent priority, the Instrument ensures that individuals with this disability are not disadvantaged by a generalised assessment framework.

While the Instrument provides specific recognition to motor neurone disease, this differentiation is reasonable, necessary and proportionate, as it responds to the unique clinical trajectory and urgent care needs associated with the condition.

Rights of persons with disabilities

The CRPD affirms that persons with disabilities are entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including access to health services (article 25) and equality and non-discrimination (article 5).

The Instrument promotes these rights by ensuring that the aged care system appropriately recognises and responds to the needs of individuals with motor neurone disease as a severe and progressive disability The amendments improve access to timely and appropriate supports, including assistive technology and home modifications that assist individuals to maintain their independence and participation in community life.

Right to equal recognition before the law

Article 12(2) of the CRPD provides that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law and to enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others.

The Instrument promotes this right by supporting administrative processes that allow for reconsideration of earlier priority decisions where appropriate, including through retrospective application of the amended rules. This ensures that individuals with motor neurone disease are treated fairly and consistently within the legal framework and may benefit equally from legislative improvements.

Conclusion

The Aged Care Amendment (Motor Neurone Disease Priority) Rules 2026 is compatible with human rights.

The Instrument promotes the rights to an adequate standard of living, health, social security, equality and non-discrimination, and the rights of persons with disabilities by ensuring that individuals with motor neurone disease receive timely access to assistive technology and home modifications services and supports.

To the extent that the Instrument differentiates between groups, this is reasonable, necessary and proportionate to address the specific needs of individuals with motor neurone disease and to correct unintended consequences in the operation of the prioritisation framework.

Sam Rae

Minister for Aged Care and Seniors