호주 연방감찰관, 노인돌봄 알고리즘 평가도구 조사 착수

Exclusive: It follows numerous complaints made to Guardian Australia, politicians and advocacy organisations about the Integrated Assessment ToolGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe commonwealth ombudsman is investigating the government’s algorithm-based aged care assessment tool, which has been described by assessors as “cruel” and “inhumane” in its determination of home support funding for elderly Australians.It follows hundreds of complaints made to Guardian Australia, politicians and advocacy organisations about the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), made mandatory in November by the Albanese government as part of aged care reforms.

The commonwealth ombudsman is investigating the government’s algorithm-based aged care assessment tool, which has been described by assessors as “cruel” and “inhumane” in its determination of home support funding for elderly Australians.

It follows hundreds of complaints made to Guardian Australia, politicians and advocacy organisations about the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), made mandatory in November by the Albanese government as part of aged care reforms.

The IAT involves an assessor asking an older person questions about their physical, social and personal circumstances to determine how much government-funded home support they are eligible to receive.

Ahead of the IAT’s launch, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing quietly added an algorithm to classify IAT responses and determine a funding classification.

The department’s user manual states that assessors must accept the IAT’s classification outcome when assigning home support, with assessors telling Guardian Australia their role had effectively been reduced to data entry.

People previously receiving home support packages and who required reassessment because their health deteriorated have reported the IAT classified them at a lower level than before, leaving them with less funding and support despite greater needs.

Some people have said they are too scared to request a reassessment.

There have also been hundreds of requests for an internal review of IAT outcomes in the months since the tool was introduced, a process which can take up to 90 days.

An ombudsman spokesperson confirmed: “The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman has received complaints about and has commenced an investigation into the use of the Integrated Assessment Tool.

“However, we conduct our investigations in private and will only comment further when the investigation has been completed or substantially progressed.”

The ombudsman has the power to investigate complaints about government agencies, compel those agencies to provide evidence, and to make recommendations after an investigation. Those recommendations have the potential to lead to significant and systemic improvements in government administration.

Previous commonwealth ombudsman investigations have examined major government failures. These include the robodebt scandal which involved the unlawful and automated government debt recovery scheme that targeted welfare recipients, and jobseeker, with the ombudsman finding automated systems unlawfully cancelled the payments of thousands of people.

The legal basis for preventing aged care assessors from overriding IAT classifications has also been questioned in parliament, with senators raising concerns about the use of automated decision-making in determining access to care.

Mark Aitken, the director of advocacy organisation Aged Care Matters and a former aged care assessor who blew the whistle on the inability to override the IAT, said he welcomed the ombudsman’s investigation, describing the algorithm as “extremely bad policy”.

“So many older people have had to be subjected to an algorithm making the decision about their aged care assessment,” he said.

“What I’m really disappointed about is we were promised reforms (to aged care), but we seem to have got changes that benefit the government’s policy on saving money, rather than providing the best outcome for older people.”

The department has previously claimed the IAT provides a more transparent, equitable and fair approach to home support assessments.

The Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne, who has questioned senior department staff about the legislative basis of the tool, said: “Labor’s ham-fisted attempt to save a few dollars by automating aged care decision-making is blowing up in their faces.

“The ombudsman’s investigation is welcome, but Labor needs to read the writing on the wall and pull the pin on their dodgy algorithm now, before it causes more harm.”

Do you know more? melissa.davey@theguardian.com