Time Well Spent

Dane Mitchell and Rose Plater
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Time Well Spent is a podcast exploring aged care, the NDIS, and health — through candid conversations with executives and thought leaders shaping the industry. Hosted by Dane Mitchell (Optimum Allied Health) and Rose Plater (Paynters), the show is built on authentic conversations. Each 40-60 minute episode asks bold, sometimes controversial, questions about reform, workforce, finance, design, and innovation — opening space for leaders to tell us what they really think about the industry and its future.

  1. The Financial Reality of Aged Care in 2026 (And Why It’s Getting Worse). The Latest Report with Stuart Hutcheon

    3D AGO

    The Financial Reality of Aged Care in 2026 (And Why It’s Getting Worse). The Latest Report with Stuart Hutcheon

    Metro homes make up around 65% of the sector. So they should be the most financially stable right? They’re performing the worst. At the same time, more than half of providers are still losing money… and we’re being told the system is improving. So what are the numbers actually telling us? In this episode, Dane and Rose sit down with Stuart Hutcheon from StewartBrown to break down the latest benchmarking data and where the pressure is really coming from. From funding models that don’t leave room for a margin… to providers not pulling the levers already available to them… to a system that still isn’t set up to attract investment. Because if these numbers are right, we’re still a long way from a model that works. Key moments: 0:00 - Why metro homes (65% of the sector) are now the worst performing financially… and what’s driving that shift 6:34 - 60% of providers are still losing money… Are the reforms actually fixing anything? 9:31 - What it really takes to get new beds approved… and why providers are hitting roadblocks before they even start? 15:04 - The accommodation review 21:27 - Should the market be setting RAD prices in metro areas… and what happens if it does?  24:50 - The “everyday living” gap: why even with higher supplements, providers are still running at a deficit 29:01- Should residents be paying extra for things they expect in normal life? 33:0-1 - The simplest lever providers aren’t pulling… and why it’s directly impacting financial performance 37:28 - There’s $4.5 billion sitting unused in home care… so why isn’t it reaching the people who need it? 40:55 - Where 30% of every home care dollar actually goes… and why that’s becoming unsustainable 52:18 - Are we quietly cutting funding while calling it “reform”? 56:55 - The number the sector actually needs to be investible… and why we’re nowhere near it 58:48 - if you could change three ithings in the next 12 months to shift this trajectory what would they be 1:02:026 - What small providers need to understand right now if they want to survive what’s coming

    1h 9m
  2. A Good Death: Are We Designing Aged Care for Living, but Not for Dying?

    MAR 30

    A Good Death: Are We Designing Aged Care for Living, but Not for Dying?

    We design aged care services around living well. But what about leaving well? Death is inevitable in residential care, and yet most organisations have no clear framework for what a good death looks like. No structured training, no consistent rituals, and in some cases, no funding for the final day of care. So today Dane is turning the mic on Rose, to sit down and unpack the policies we don’t have, the conversations we avoid, and the leadership decisions that shape the final experience of life in care. Key moments: 0:00 - What shocked Rose when she first starting working in aged care and designing death 4:22 - What Rose learnt from experienced clinical staff about what actually shapes a good death 5:35 - Why aren’t we recording something as simple as the preferred place of death? 7:29 - Are we training our staff enough about how to design a good death? 9:34 - What are we doing that might be well-meaning but affecting the lives of residents and staff? 13:16 - Is there a right way to handle death in a residential facility? 16:02 - When we hide death, what is the cost? 17:04 - What happens when funding doesn’t recognise the final day of care? 19:23 - Switzerland is doing things differently: what designing for both living and leaving looks like 22:43 - The beautiful moment Rose got to share with her grandmother thanks to a nurse 26:08 - What leaders should be doing now

    30 min
  3. “Australia’s Health Care System is on it’s Knees” - Why We Need to Start Talking About Money in Aged Care ft Charles Moore

    MAR 23

    “Australia’s Health Care System is on it’s Knees” - Why We Need to Start Talking About Money in Aged Care ft Charles Moore

    What happens when an industry built on care is uncomfortable talking about money? Aged care is framed as something that should exist outside the language of profit, investment and commercial thinking. But without those things, it becomes very difficult to build the homes, services and communities the next generation of older Australians will rely on. And that time is coming quickly. In this episode, Rose and Dane sit down with Charles Moore, CEO of BaptistCare, to talk about why the sector may need to rethink the way it talks about capital, growth and commercial sustainability. Key moments: 0:00 - The tension between profit and purpose in aged care, and why the sector needs to get more comfortable with being commercial 4:53 - Why attracting capital into aged care might be one of the biggest challenges facing the sector 10:20 - The role retirement living could play in solving the bed shortage 12:54 -  What “integrated care” actually looks like inside BaptistCare’s model 15:56 - The things Charles believes need to change if the system is going to work long-term 20:32 -  What Charles learned working on the Sydney Olympic Park development and how that thinking has shaped BaptistCare 25:26 - Why attracting younger people into the workforce is becoming more urgent 26:20 - BaptistCare’s clustering strategy and how it changes the way services are delivered 33:08 - The thinking behind the recent merger and what it enables them to do 40:52 - Why Charles believes this might actually be the best time to invest in aged care 44:11 - The story behind Hope Street and the role projects like this can play in communities 50:17 - How housing affordability is shaping the future of aged care 55:19 - What Charles hopes the sector could look like in the years ahead

    1 hr
  4. Funding Aged Care Homes in Regional Australia: Taking Initiatives into your own hands with Chris from Whiddon Aged Care

    MAR 16

    Funding Aged Care Homes in Regional Australia: Taking Initiatives into your own hands with Chris from Whiddon Aged Care

    Australia has an Aged Care Home problem. And it’s already creating pressure in regional communities. Current projections suggest that 80,000 additional beds will be needed over the next decade. They’re currently being built at less than 1,000 beds a year … And the gap is starting to have a very real effect on the industry.  We’re already seeing it play out in service viability, workforce strain and further limiting options for regional families. In this episode, Dane and Rose sit down with Chris Mamarelis from Whiddon Aged Care to talk through what’s happening in regional Australia. From why funding and viability remain the biggest constraints, to how providers are being forced to take matters into their own hands when policy makers just aren’t keeping up. Key moments: 0:00 - Why regional aged care is where the system is breaking first 3:47 - “The problem is viability”: Why services are closing even though demand exists 5:18 - How capital grants are being used to make otherwise unviable regional projects possible 7:41 - How Triple M and regional loadings work and why they’re still falling short 9:18 - Why very small regional homes are becoming no longer viable 13:06 - What Whiddon actually means by relationship based care (with real examples) 18:44 - Why COVID has made people afraid to enter residential care again 21:46 - Recruiting in regional towns vs metro including timelines, agency use + cost 23:38 - The real cost of skilled migration and what Whiddon does differently for its staff 31:12 - Why Whiddon stopped waiting for government and launched a collaborative health model 39:52 - Why Australia is massively underbuilding aged care beds despite clear demand 44:41 - Standalone community providers are being forced to merge or exit 1:00:02 - Chris’s message to the government about funding

    1h 2m
  5. Support at Home… But Not When You Need It: Adrian Morgan on What Went Wrong 6 Month On

    MAR 9

    Support at Home… But Not When You Need It: Adrian Morgan on What Went Wrong 6 Month On

    4,812 older Australians died waiting for the right level of home care last financial year. When Adrian Morgan last joined the podcast, he warned that Support at Home could create serious unintended consequences. Six months on, a lot of those predictions have played out. So what went wrong? In this episode, Adrian Morgan is sitting down with Dane and Rose to talk about what’s happened since the Act came into effect and whether the course can still be fixed. If you want to listen to our first episode with Adrian you can listen to it on Spotify or Apple. Key moments: 0:00 - Six months in… what has actually changed since Support at Home began? 7:59 - Co-contributions: are they quietly pushing people to refuse care altogether? 11:28 -  The prediction that the system would collapse under its own weight… is it already happening? 13:29 - Why are clients being reassessed out of services they were already receiving? 22:09 - The “black box” algorithm: who really controls the outcome of an assessment? 24:58 - Dementia, diabetes, anxiety… and told there’s “no impairment.” How is that possible? 28:32 - Are regional providers about to hit a financial breaking point? 32:49 -  Is there anything in this reform that’s actually working as intended? 36:47 -  CHSP: the only part of the system functioning well… so why merge it? 40:12 - What happens to provider viability if CHSP disappears tomorrow? 49:22 - Have peak bodies been too cautious “inside the tent?” 59:18 -  Seven changes that could stabilise Support at Home 1:04:02 - The promise list vs the reality list: affordable, simple, person-centred… or something else? 01:08:59 - If the Minister is listening… What would need to change, today?

    1h 11m
  6. Dementia and Dignity: When Love and Connection Become Organisational Strategy with CEO Jenni Hutchins

    MAR 2

    Dementia and Dignity: When Love and Connection Become Organisational Strategy with CEO Jenni Hutchins

    Most aged care organisations simply talk about dementia. Warrigal decided to formalise it, take it to the board, and make it measurable. Today Dane and Rose sit down with Jenni Hutchings, CEO of Warrigal, to talk about why Warrigal chose to formalise its approach to dementia through a 2030 Dementia Action Plan. The conversation looks at what shifts when dementia is treated as an organisational responsibility, and what it actually means to place love, connection, and dignity at the centre of decision making. Not just in language, but when it’s embedded in an organisation's systems, training, and staff accountability. Read Warrigal’s Dementia Action Plan here. Key moments: 0:00 - Why Warrigal decided to put dementia on the board agenda, and what changes once it’s treated as a leadership issue 6:15 - What it takes to turn dignity and dementia into something measurable, rather than values on a page 9:15 - What organisations learn once their commitments are made public and measurable 10:01 - Why Warrigal chose to formally teach touch and connection in dementia care 16:30 - Leadership advice from a CEO to 2,500 staff and 600 volunteers 22:00 - How intergenerational care programs are changing more than just workforce supply 27:20 - The reaction from younger staff that challenges commonly believed assumptions about aged care 30:12 - Where the current funding models stop lining up with how residents actually experience care 34:36 - The kinds of innovation that policy settings are ruling out today 52:00 - Supporting people at home: an outcome the system simply isn’t equipped for 53:51 - If loneliness sits underneath so many outcomes, why it still isn’t treated as a core policy issue?

    55 min
  7. What’s changed After the New Aged Care Act & Support At Home Roll Out (and what hasn’t) with Paul Sadler

    FEB 23

    What’s changed After the New Aged Care Act & Support At Home Roll Out (and what hasn’t) with Paul Sadler

    The last time we had Paul Sadler on the podcast, we spoke about the upcoming reforms to the Support at Home program that were due to go live in November. The reforms are now live and for many older Australians and providers, the reality looks very different to what was promised. We wanted to get Paul back on the show to talk about exactly what has happened after the roll out of the Support at Home program and the new Aged Care Act.  From algorithms that are deciding the fate of service providers without any professional opinion, to funding decisions that are reshaping access to care, we have a lot of questions. Key moments: 00:00 - The last minute decision assessors were told about the day before rollout02:02 - What happens when an algorithm decides eligibility and clinicians can’t override it03:24 - People are being assessed as ineligible or far lower than their needs suggest07:18 - Why this is being compared to robo debt 13:16 - Why people are choosing to stay in CHSP despite higher assessed needs14:43 - When providers are pushed into regulatory risk without funding16:19 - Interim funding at 60% is becoming the default entry point19:15 - Who decides which 40% of assessed care gets ignored 23:38 - The immediate changes that could be made without new legislation 30:19 - Pricing, claims, and what providers still can’t get clear answers on34:35 - Why hardship applications are already increasing 36:31 - What’s actually changed in residential aged care under the new Act 45:23 - Why new beds aren’t being built, especially in regional areas48:21 - Where innovation is happening despite the pressure on the system 53:00 - “The least broken part of the system”  and why it’s now at risk

    55 min
  8. Service, Humility, and the Quiet Work of Caring with Dane and Rose

    12/17/2025

    Service, Humility, and the Quiet Work of Caring with Dane and Rose

    In this deeply personal episode of Time Well Spent, co-host Rose Plater turns the microphone toward Dane Mitchell to explore the story that quietly shaped his life, values, and leadership in care. At the heart of the conversation is Lola, Dane’s Nan, a woman of deep faith who devoted her life to raising more than 160 children as matron of a Baptist children’s home. Known simply as “Mum” to every child in her care, Lola believed that every child deserved one thing above all else: a place to call home. Dane reflects on how Lola’s legacy shaped his family’s story, his commitment to service, and ultimately the purpose behind Time Well Spent. Together, Dane and Rose unpack how lived experience — from childhood care, to dementia journeys, to working on the frontline — informs better leadership, better design, and more humane models of aged care. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    21 min
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About

Time Well Spent is a podcast exploring aged care, the NDIS, and health — through candid conversations with executives and thought leaders shaping the industry. Hosted by Dane Mitchell (Optimum Allied Health) and Rose Plater (Paynters), the show is built on authentic conversations. Each 40-60 minute episode asks bold, sometimes controversial, questions about reform, workforce, finance, design, and innovation — opening space for leaders to tell us what they really think about the industry and its future.

Information

  • Creator
    Dane Mitchell and Rose Plater
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Time Well Spent
  • Show Website
    Time Well Spent

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