Since January 2023, the care finder program has been helping older people to navigate the aged care system.

The program was introduced in response to the Royal Commission recommendation that a national network of care finders be established. Primary Health Networks are responsible for commissioning care finder organisations to deliver services based on local needs.

In June 2025, AHA completed an evaluation of the care finder program’s introduction and establishment. We were re-engaged in September 2025 to evaluate the care finder program’s continuing operation.

The overarching objectives of the evaluation are to assess the ongoing appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency of the program and support its continuous improvement.

We will achieve these objectives by:

• Reviewing information about the program and related initiatives.
• Collecting data from care finder organisations about the services they provide and the workforce that provides them.
• Consulting with PHNs, the care finder workforce, older people who access care finder services, and a range of other relevant stakeholders.
• Sourcing data held by the department on workforce training and aged care service user characteristics.

Our final report, due in 2028, will include evaluation findings and recommendations for improving the program.