Review of the remoteness classification system for aged care

About the review

We are reviewing the Modified Monash Model for aged care. The purpose is to assess the appropriateness of the MMM as a tool to allocate aged care funding and supports in regional, rural and remote locations.

The review is being conducted in response to Recommendation 17 of the Aged Care Taskforce Final Report.

The review will also build on the outcomes of the recent Working Better for Medicare Review.

Why the review is important

The MMM is used to define locations by metropolitan, rural, remote or very remote.

The system was designed to improve distribution of health workforce in rural and remote areas. People in these areas can find it more difficult and more expensive to access health services and doctors.

In aged care, the MMM is used to allocate program funding and other supports for aged care providers in regional, rural and remote locations. Eligibility for some programs or supports can also be based on a provider’s MMM location.

The review will help us make recommendations for the ongoing use of the MMM in aged care.

This will help aged care providers to access targeted supports that match local conditions and costs of delivering services in regional, rural and remote locations.

Goals of the review

The review will explore:

how the MMM system is used in aged care
any advantages and disadvantages of the system for aged care
factors and conditions, including remoteness, that influence aged care service delivery in regional, rural and remote locations
options for the ongoing use of the MMM for aged care.

How we are conducting the review

The review will be completed in 2 phases.

The Scoping phase was recently completed and included:

a stocktake of care programs using the MMM
internal consultations
targeted consultations in Kalgoorlie, Broken Hill and Tamworth with aged care providers, local councils/government, local health services, Primary Health Networks, and not-for-profit organisations.

This phase helped us to plan the next phases of the review.

The Consultation and reporting phase is now underway and will be completed by the end of 2025.

This phase will involve wider consultation with a range of people from the aged care sector and communities across the country.

This phase will help us understand what people think about the MMM to support aged care service delivery. It will also help us understand what’s important about delivering aged care services in regional rural and remote locations.

Get involved

We will keep you updated with ways to get involved in the review.

Learn more