Meals on Wheels Takes Its Message to the Senate Inquiry
Recently, I had the privilege of appearing before the Senate Inquiry into Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) transition into Support at Home (SAH) on behalf of Meals on Wheels Australia, alongside Leeanne Wright from Blayney Meals on Wheels.
As the first witnesses to be questioned, we had an important opportunity to put Meals on Wheels, and the experiences of our local services, squarely before the inquiry.
Together, we spoke about the role Meals on Wheels plays in communities across the country and the growing pressures local services are facing.
Meals on Wheels has been operating in Australia for more than 70 years, built by the community for the community, and continues to provide far more than just a meal. For many older Australians, it offers nutritious food, regular social contact and a simple wellbeing check, delivered in a way that is local, practical and low burden. As we told the inquiry, this model works because it provides quick access to support before people’s needs escalate.
Leeanne and I also spoke candidly about the pressures many Meals on Wheels services are now facing. Across the country, services are managing rising demand, increasing client complexity, workforce and volunteer strain, and funded targets that are no longer keeping pace with need.
In many cases, services are delivering above target or managing waiting lists, all while navigating increasing compliance and operational pressures. These are not isolated challenges; they are being felt across the network.
A central message of our appearance was the importance of the Commonwealth Home Support program. CHSP remains the front door and early-intervention layer of aged care, providing rapid access to low-risk supports that help older people remain safe, well and connected at home.
For Meals on Wheels, CHSP block funding provides the stable operational base that makes service delivery possible, supporting the real fixed costs behind every meal delivered, from staffing and vehicles to food safety systems, facilities and volunteer support.
We used the inquiry to make clear why CHSP should remain separate to Support at Home. While we support reform that strengthens aged care, rolling low risk supports such as meals into a more complex program risks slower access, greater administration, payment delays and reduced service availability, particularly in thin markets where there may be no alternative provider.
We also raised concerns about the uncertainty surrounding CHSP beyond 2027, which is already undermining planning, investment and confidence across the sector.
During the hearing, we also took a question on notice, to which we have now submitted our reply. That process provided a further opportunity to reinforce the evidence we gave in person: Meals on Wheels is a proven, community-based model that works, and CHSP is a program that should be retained, strengthened and expanded, not absorbed into a system that may weaken the very responsiveness and local connection that older Australians value most.
I left the inquiry encouraged by the opportunity to tell our story directly and to advocate for the future of our services. Meals on Wheels has long been built by the community, for the community, and our message to Government was straightforward: older Australians need meals quickly, locally and reliably, and Meals on Wheels must continue to be supported to deliver exactly that.