FRANKSTON Council’s planned cuts to its in-home care services have been labelled “deeply concerning and unclear” by Dunkley MP Jodie Belyea.
Behind closed doors at their late October meeting, Frankston councillors voted to transition clients across many of its in-home care programs to external providers. Council services set to be phased out by 30 June next year are personal care, domestic assistance including house cleaning and unescorted shopping, respite care, Home and Community Care Program for Younger People assessment services, meals on wheels and delivered meals for HACC-PYP clients only, home maintenance and modifications including gutter cleaning, flexible service response, and social support individual escorted shopping. (“Council confirms care cuts” The Times 4/11/2025)
The changes were confirmed the same week that the federal government’s sweeping aged care reforms were implemented. Dunkley MP Jodie Belyea said that “throughout this process, the government has repeatedly confirmed funding for local community services, including those delivered by Frankston City Council, will continue until at least July 2027 under the Commonwealth Home Support Program. This commitment is backed by over $10 billion invested nationally in CHSP providers between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2027.”
“To be clear these reforms have not reduced Commonwealth funding to Frankston City Council. Council continues to receive approximately $4.5 million each year to deliver services,” Belyea said. “Late last week I received a media statement from council announcing its intention to cut services from 30 June 2026 – a full year before its current Commonwealth funding agreement ends.
“Several months ago, Frankston City Council advised me it was considering changes to its service delivery model to ensure what it described as the ‘long-term financial sustainability of community care services’. Council also shared the findings of a community review, which showed high satisfaction among clients and staff, and a clear preference for council to continue delivering services. During these discussions, council indicated financial sustainability was a key reason it may withdraw from delivering some services. As the federal member for Dunkley, I made my position clear – no client, resident, or staff member should be worse off because of any changes.”
Around 60 percent of Frankston Council’s current clients are expected to be affected by its decision.
Frankston mayor Kris Bolam has defended the decision. “To date, more than 25 Victorian councils, representing around a quarter of the sector, have already withdrawn from direct service delivery. Frankston City Council is one of the few choosing to retain and strengthen essential programs, including meals on wheels and group social support outings program), along with a new Community Care Advocacy and Navigation Service launching in April 2026,” he said.
“While there is no immediate change to the services our clients receive, we are committed to supporting clients every step of the way. A dedicated community care transition team is already in place to coordinate the transition process, answer questions and assist clients,” Bolam said. “While the changes will affect just over half of council’s 1700 community care clients, including all 180 HACC-PYP clients, they will enable council to strengthen and expand the services it retains — reducing the Meals on Wheels waiting list to zero and stepping up the council-funded social outings transport to help more residents stay connected.
“Council explored a wide range of options for both HACC-PYP and CHSP services, including continuing full-service delivery, exiting all service delivery and partial service delivery. Our decision considered community feedback, local service data and financial sustainability, with a partial service delivery model considered the most suitable outcome for our local community.”
Jodie Belyea says she has “requested a meeting with mayor Cr Kris Bolam and the [council] CEO to better understand this decision, and to seek clarity on how they intend to transition services while protecting older residents and staff.”
“As your local representative and a local resident, I believe every older person in Dunkley deserves safe, high-quality care. I have been actively engaged to ensure care continues for residents and fair treatment is provided to council’s aged care staff. I will continue to advocate so that residents receive the care they need and that dedicated workers are not financially disadvantaged by changes to their employer,” Belyea said.
First published in the Frankston Times – 11 November 2025