This is the second part of our two-part series on the Support at Home transition. The first article by Kristine McKenzie outlined compliance challenges and practical implications for podiatrists. This article explores how pricing decisions made today will shape the future of podiatry under the new system. Podiatrist, member of the Australian Podiatry Association and Chair of the Podiatry Aged Care special interest group – Dr Rob Mullins – highlights what is at stake for the entire profession if podiatrists fail to value the worth of their paid time.
To be clear upfront, the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) consultation on Residential Care isn’t going to have an impact on podiatry in residential care.
As podiatrists know, IHACPA informs the AN-ACC pricing, which is how much money facilities are funded to provide the resources they are required to provide. There won’t be any price caps on individual services, as each facility is free to enter into agreements with podiatrists as they see fit.
By contrast, we can expect price caps to be instituted for the Support at Home framework from July 2026. This is important because the IHACPA and the Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing will use data gathered from the start of Support at Home to inform cap pricing for each discipline from July.
In short: Setting lower prices now will likely lead to lower price caps later when they come in July 2026. Now is the time to price podiatry services at a sustainable level.
As Kristine has already explained, podiatrists who are contracted to work for a registered provider are called associate providers. The registered provider is the organisation which manages the package. All the rules are for registered providers, and they in turn must abide by those rules and impose whatever guidelines they see fit onto any associate provider they work with.
So, to reiterate this shift: Price caps will be what registered providers are allowed to charge to a package – so what they pay the podiatrist will likely be lower than that (they take a margin of the fee themselves for their work in setting up the services, which is how they pay their staff).
Now is the time for all podiatrists working in the Support at Home system to set prices that are sustainable for their business. That includes making sure your price covers time, travel, consumables, administration, documentation, compliance, and a myriad of other costs. Underestimating your worth at this point will inform how the price caps are set, so if there is ever one time to price podiatry services at what they are worth, it is now.
While some providers may set their own price caps, the government has not yet done so, at the time of writing. The department released Indicative Pricing many months back. This is not a price cap. It is the result of a survey of Registered Package Providers and does not accurately reflect the true cost of providing podiatry services, as well as many other allied health professions.
Hopefully all podiatrists have set sustainable pricing for their businesses. Some providers may refuse to agree to those prices, and we may lose some contracts, but if everyone has set realistic prices, those clients will have no choice but to return. If we lower prices to something unsustainable now, we will likely end up locked into those lower prices in the future. And remember there is no shortage of clients on packages, many of whom will have podiatry recommended in their care plan. The registered providers will need to find someone to provide that care. We need to set the standard of what it costs to provide podiatry services within this system while we still can.
If a registered provider is not willing to accept your rates, my advice is to tell them they can find someone else who can.
In short: Value your profession – and yourself. Charge what is required to provide your services into the Support at Home system, and do not undercut yourself as that could lead to a lower price cap once the department imposes them (as of now on 1st July 2026).
On a practical note, review the Support at Home Program Manual. Although intended for registered providers, it outlines the rules podiatrists must follow as associate providers and will also help you understand the restraints the registered providers have in the new system.
I want to highlight that the Podiatry Aged Care Special Interest Group (who are all volunteers) have been working tirelessly to update members, including by creating the pricing calculator which is available to all members of the Australian Podiatry Association to assist in determining an hourly rate.
The advocacy team has also been working with the Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) who represents all allied health professions to advocate in many ways. These include fair and consistent pricing for podiatrists, and a reduction in administrative burdens of the new system. As with all government departments, change might be slow but the advocacy on behalf of podiatrists has been consistent.
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