Podiatry in Aged Care: Access, Funding & Your Rights

Foot health rarely makes headlines. It does not attract the kind of policy attention that dementia care, mental health or hospital waiting lists receive. Yet for older Australians, the condition of their feet determines whether they can walk safely to the kitchen, whether they fall getting out of bed, and whether a small wound becomes a hospitalisation. Podiatry sits at the intersection of mobility, pain management, diabetes care, wound care and falls prevention, and it remains chronically underrepresented in how aged care services are planned, funded and delivered.

This is not a new problem, but a series of structural and policy changes in 2024 and 2025 have either created new opportunities to close the gap, or exposed just how wide it remains.

Foot problems in aged care are not just inconveniences. Untreated ingrown toenails cause infection. Unmanaged calluses become pressure ulcers. Peripheral neuropathy from diabetes means a resident may not feel a wound developing under a fold of skin. Fungal infections spread between residents sharing mobility equipment. Ill-fitting footwear contributes directly to falls, which remain one of the most serious preventable injury risks in both residential and home care settings.

The numbers make the stakes concrete. Falls were the leading cause of injury hospitalisation in Australia in 2024–25 and are estimated to have cost the health system about $5.4 billion in 2023–24, with 95 per cent of fall-related deaths occurring in people aged 65 and over.^[1] For people living with diabetes, the pathway is even starker: there are more than 4,400 diabetes-related amputations in Australia every year (the second highest rate in the developed world) and around 10,000 hospital admissions annually for diabetes-related foot ulcers, at a cost of roughly $875 million a year.^[2] Crucially, an estimated 85 per cent of those amputations are preventable when foot problems are detected early and managed appropriately.^[2] Podiatry assessment, debridement and monitoring are exactly the interventions that interrupt that pathway before it reaches a surgical threshold.

The Aged Care Act 2024 and What It Now Requires

The Aged Care Act 2024 commenced on 1 November 2025, and with it came the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. Standard 5, which covers Clinical Care, now legally requires aged care providers to have systematic processes to identify, assess, manage and review pain.^[3] This is not aspirational language. It is a compliance obligation.

Foot pain is one of the most common and undertreated forms of pain in older adults. Providers who do not have documented pathways for identifying, referring and reviewing foot-related pain are exposed to regulatory scrutiny. In practice, many facilities are still developing these systems, particularly smaller regional providers with limited allied health integration.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can take action against providers who fail to meet these standards.^[3] The combination of enforceable clinical standards and a new accountability framework creates, for the first time, a real structural incentive for providers to take podiatry seriously rather than treat it as an optional service line.

Support at Home: Podiatry as Zero Co-Contribution Clinical Care

The former Home Care Package system was replaced by Support at Home on 1 November 2025 under the Aged Care Act 2024. This matters significantly for podiatry access.

Under Support at Home, podiatry is classified as clinical care. Clinical care under Support at Home carries zero participant co-contribution, regardless of the participant’s income or assets. That means eligible older Australians receiving Support at Home do not pay out of pocket for podiatry delivered as part of their funded clinical care services.

This is one of the most important and least understood changes for families arranging care at home. For years, allied health under the former Home Care Package system required careful navigation of package budgets and provider fees, and many participants ended up rationing appointments. Under the new model, the government fully funds clinical care. A podiatry visit to treat a wound, manage a nail condition, or provide a gait assessment is covered without the participant facing a bill.

There is still a lifetime non-clinical contribution cap of $135,318.69 for new entrants to the Support at Home scheme, and $84,571.66 for those transitioning under no-worse-off protections. However, clinical podiatry services do not count toward this cap. What does count toward it are things like transport, social support and other independence services. Families coordinating care need to understand this distinction clearly to make full use of what participants are entitled to.

If a family member or their GP does not know to request podiatry as a clinical care service, it may not be included in the support plan at all. My Aged Care (1800 200 422) is the starting point for anyone who wants to understand what clinical care their family member is entitled to under Support at Home.

What the GP Chronic Condition Management Plan Now Covers

Outside of aged care facilities and Support at Home, many older Australians access podiatry through their GP using a referral under the GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP), which replaced the former GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangement system on 1 July 2025.

Under the GPCCMP, a GP can refer eligible patients with a chronic condition to up to five allied health sessions per year, including podiatry. The referral is now made by a standard letter rather than the structured forms that were previously required. The referral validity period is 18 months. The Medicare rebate for each allied health session under this pathway is around $61.80.

This is a meaningful access pathway for older Australians living at home who are not yet on a Support at Home plan, or who have diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, or other chronic conditions that make foot health a clinical priority. GPs, practice nurses and care coordinators who are still issuing referrals using the old GPMP or Team Care Arrangement terminology or forms are now out of step with the current system.

The five-session cap is a real limitation. For patients who need monthly podiatry to manage high-risk diabetic feet, five appointments across a 12-month period falls well short of clinical recommendations, which for high-risk feet can mean review every six to eight weeks. Some patients and families try to fill the gap with out-of-pocket appointments or private health insurance, but cost remains a barrier for many, particularly concession card holders managing multiple chronic conditions. This is precisely where Support at Home clinical care, with no session cap and no co-contribution, becomes the more sustainable pathway for eligible older Australians.

Residential Aged Care: Where the Gap Is Largest

In residential aged care, podiatry is frequently contracted through visiting practitioners who attend a facility on a set schedule, typically once every six to eight weeks. The interval is not always clinically driven; it often reflects budgetary and staffing decisions by the provider. A resident with fast-growing nails, a wound or an active infection may wait weeks for a scheduled visit.

Workforce shortages are not hypothetical. The lag between announced aged care funding and actual staffing capacity affects allied health as directly as it affects nursing, and many providers struggle to attract or retain visiting podiatrists, particularly in regional and rural areas. For facilities in outer metropolitan and regional areas, access to visiting podiatry is inconsistent. A facility may have a contracted podiatrist who services the building monthly, but individual residents may not receive attention every visit if the roster is full. There is no standard national requirement for podiatry assessment frequency in residential care, which means variation is wide and often invisible to families.

The Strengthened Quality Standards under the Aged Care Act 2024 do not prescribe how often a resident sees a podiatrist. What they do require is a systematic process for identifying and managing pain and clinical risk.^[3] An audit trail showing that a resident’s foot pain was identified, assessed and reviewed is now a compliance document, not just a care note. For families, that is a genuine lever: you are entitled to ask what the process is and to see that it has been followed.

Falls Prevention: The Underappreciated Podiatry Connection

The connection between foot health and falls is well established clinically. Footwear assessment, toenail condition, sensory testing, and footwear modification are all within the podiatrist’s scope and directly affect gait stability and fall risk. The updated 2025 Australian Falls Guidelines explicitly include podiatry and footwear interventions alongside balance exercise and home-safety assessment as evidence-based components of falls prevention.^[4]

This matters because falls-related hospital admissions represent a significant share of preventable aged care emergency presentations, and, as noted above, cost the health system in the order of $5 billion a year.^[1] A person who arrives at an emergency department or Urgent Care Clinic with a head laceration from a fall caused by wearing unsupported footwear on neglected, painful feet has not had a podiatry problem solved; they have had a falls injury treated. Falls prevention in aged care requires upstream investment, and podiatry is a cost-effective upstream intervention. The case for embedding routine podiatry into falls prevention programs in both residential and home care settings has been made in the clinical literature repeatedly. Implementation, however, continues to lag.

Mobile Podiatry: Closing the Access Gap at Home

For older Australians living at home, particularly those who are frail, housebound or living with dementia, attending a clinic for podiatry is often not realistic. The journey itself poses a risk. Getting in and out of a car is physically demanding. Transport is expensive or unavailable. A community-based or mobile podiatrist who visits the home solves the access problem entirely.

Mobile podiatry can be delivered as clinical care under Support at Home with zero co-contribution, as described above. It can also be accessed through the GPCCMP for patients with chronic conditions. For carers supporting an older person at home, the ability to have a podiatrist come to the house removes one more item from a care coordination burden that is already significant. Families and care coordinators can find qualified mobile practitioners by conducting a postcode search on the Home Visit Network platform.

Carer Gateway (1800 422 737) offers support and practical assistance for carers managing the complexity of coordinating home-based care. Many carers who contact services like these are not aware that clinical services including podiatry can be funded at no personal cost under Support at Home.

The platform behind this article was built by a mobile therapist who understood that access to care should not depend on a person’s ability to leave their home. In our experience working with mobile practitioners, podiatry is consistently one of the most requested services once families understand it can be delivered at home, and one of the most delayed because families did not know it was available that way.

Telehealth and Podiatry: What Changed in November 2025

Telehealth has a limited but real role in podiatry, primarily for initial consultations, wound monitoring via images and video, and care coordination between a podiatrist, GP and other allied health. From 1 November 2025, Medicare telehealth rebates require that the patient has had an in-person GP visit within the previous 12 months, or that they are enrolled in MyMedicare.^[5] This requirement affects how telehealth consultations are structured and billed, particularly for housebound patients whose in-person GP contact may be infrequent.

Podiatrists and GPs coordinating care for complex patients should document in-person contact carefully to ensure telehealth continuity is preserved. For a housebound diabetic patient, this is not a technicality: losing telehealth rebate eligibility can interrupt the wound-monitoring cadence that keeps a small ulcer from becoming an admission.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is podiatry covered under Support at Home?

Yes. Podiatry is classified as clinical care under Support at Home, which means it carries zero participant co-contribution. The government fully funds it regardless of your income or assets. Contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 to ask about including podiatry in your support plan.

How many podiatry sessions can a GP refer me to?

Under the GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP), which replaced the old GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangement from 1 July 2025, your GP can refer you to up to five allied health sessions per year, including podiatry. The referral is valid for 18 months and the Medicare rebate per session is around $61.80. For high-risk diabetic feet needing more frequent care, Support at Home clinical care (no cap, no co-contribution) is often the better pathway if you are eligible.

Can a podiatrist come to my home or to my loved one’s aged care facility?

Yes. Mobile podiatrists visit homes, residential facilities and other community settings. For people who are frail, housebound or cannot easily travel to a clinic, a mobile service is often the most practical and safest option.

What should I look for if I am worried about my parent’s feet in a residential facility?

Under the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (effective 1 November 2025), providers must systematically identify, assess and manage pain. Foot pain, wounds, nail conditions and gait concerns all fall within this requirement. You can ask the facility what their podiatry schedule is, how often your family member is assessed, and to see evidence that identified foot problems have been reviewed.

Does the NDIS cover podiatry?

Podiatry may be included in an NDIS plan under Capacity Building supports, depending on individual circumstances. The NDIS eligibility and funding landscape is under active reform, so it is important to work with your planner to confirm what is currently covered for your plan.

What if I cannot afford out-of-pocket podiatry between funded sessions?

Ask your GP about the GPCCMP pathway, check your Support at Home plan to confirm podiatry is listed as clinical care (where it carries no co-contribution), and speak with your provider about clinical priority. If cost is a barrier, Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 can connect carers with navigation support.

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Injury in Australia: Falls (leading cause of injury hospitalisation 2024–25; ~$5.4 billion cost 2023–24; 95% of fall deaths among people aged 65+).
2. Diabetes Australia. Facts and Figures (4,400+ diabetes-related amputations per year; ~10,000 diabetes-related foot ulcer admissions; ~$875 million annual cost; 85% of amputations preventable). See also Zhang et al., MJA, July 2025.
3. Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Safety of Clinical Care Services, Strengthened Quality Standard 5 (processes to identify and manage pain), effective 1 November 2025.
4. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Australian Falls Guidelines 2025 (podiatry and footwear interventions as evidence-based falls prevention).
5. Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. MBS Telehealth Services (in-person GP visit within 12 months or MyMedicare enrolment required from 1 November 2025).