News

A public consultation on the Aged Care Workforce Strategy is now open on the Consultation Hub.

The Minister for Aged Care, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP announced an expert taskforce, led by Professor John Pollaers, to develop a wide-ranging workforce strategy for the aged care industry for growing and sustaining the workforce and providing aged care services and support for older people, to meet their care needs in a variety of settings across Australia.

Read more:

Seeking your views – the Aged Care Workforce Strategy

Consultation Hub – Aged Care Workforce Strategy

New aged care workforce taskforce to focus on safety and quality

Media Release: 9 February 2018

The Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt AM, has today announced the re-appointment of Andrea Coote as Chair of the Aged Care Quality Advisory Council, for a three-year term.

“The Aged Care Quality Advisory Council provides valuable advice about the operations and functions of the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency including promoting continuous improvement and compliance with quality standards,” Minister Wyatt said.

Read more:

Council Chair Continues to Ensure Safe, Quality Aged Care (.pdf)

On 30 January 2018, the Department of Health released a draft single set of quality standards.

We have started to look at these and will begin planning to update Manad Plus where required so you will be ready to use these new standards.

The draft Aged Care Quality Standards will apply to Commonwealth aged care services. The draft standards have been structured so that aged care providers will only have to meet those standards that are relevant to the type of care and services they provide and the environment in which services are delivered.

Subject to agreement by the Government, the Standards are expected to be implemented from 1 July 2018. A 12-month transition period will apply, meaning that assessment against the new Standards will commence from 1 July 2019.

This single set of standards, developed as part of the Single Quality Framework, will replace the current four sets of aged care standards:

• Accreditation Standards for residential care and short-term restorative care delivered in a residential setting
• Home Care Standards for home care, short-term restorative care delivered in a home setting, and care delivered under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program Quality Framework Standards for care delivered under the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFACP)
• Transition Care Standards for flexible care providers delivering transition care.

The draft Aged Care Quality Standards consists of eight standards. These standards are:

• Standard 1 – Consumer dignity and choice
• Standard 2 – Ongoing assessment and planning with consumers
• Standard 3 – Personal care and clinical care
• Standard 4 – Services and supports for daily living
• Standard 5 – Organisation’s service environment
• Standard 6 – Feedback and complaints
• Standard 7 – Human resources
• Standard 8 – Organisational governance.

Each of the eight draft standards includes:

• a statement of outcome for the consumer
• a statement of expectation for the organisation
• organisational requirements to demonstrate that the standard has been met.

Read more:

Draft Aged Care Quality Standards (.pdf)

Draft application of draft Aged Care Quality Standards (.pdf)

DoH has released a new edition of its newsletter ‘Information for Aged Care Providers’.

In this issue:

• Webinar: updates on My Aged Care operations and Quality Reform – draft Aged Care Quality Standards – 14 February 2018

• New My Aged Care support materials for providers and health professionals

• Caring for Indigenous Australians in residential aged care: new video

Residential Care:

• Help consumers by using the correct accommodation costs terms in agreements

• Residential Utilisation and Classification Study (RUCS) update

Read more:

Information for Aged Care Providers – Issue 2018/1 (.pdf)

We have been working with the aged care sector to develop the draft Aged Care Quality Standards.

A single set of quality standards is a key deliverable of the Single Aged Care Quality Framework. The Aged Care Quality Standards will apply to all aged care services and will replace the current four sets of aged care standards. The Standards have been structured so that organisations will only have to meet the Standards that are relevant to them.

Read more:

Draft Aged Care Quality Standards now available

Single set of aged care quality standards

The department has developed a short video on how to request a support plan review for a client through the My Aged Care provider portal. The video provides guidance on:

• identifying when to request a review
• information you should include in your review request
• checking the progress of current reviews
• viewing the history of completed reviews.

Read more:

New provider video – support plan review requests

The Management Advantage office will be closed on:

• Friday 26th January 2018 (for the Australia Day Public Holiday)

Note: The Manad Plus Help Desk will be open on Australia Day.

Remember to always use the self-help tools first for assistance.

If using version 5, go to: Help > Help Centre. If using version 4, go to: User Options > Tip Sheets.

In Case You Missed It – Below are links to recent articles on Aged Care and Healthcare that may be of interest.

Read more:

AAA – Keeping care staff: research shows what works

AAA – Funding a top aged care budget priority

HIT – Most Australians would not sign up to an online health record, survey finds

TWS – Attention NSW aged care providers: doctors no longer need to handwrite medication orders

Media Release: 24 Jan 2018

The Turnbull Government will contribute $400,000 over the next two years to innovAGEING, a partnership to drive and promote innovation across Australia’s rapidly growing aged care services industry.

Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt AM said the funding would be matched by Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), which is coordinating the collaborative project.

“innovAGEING will establish a national network for the aged care services industry, bringing together progressive thinkers and practitioners,” Minister Wyatt said.

“Innovative approaches are fundamental to providing safe, quality, sustainable care in the long term.”
innovAGEING initiatives will include:

• A national awards program to encourage and reward innovation
• Twice-yearly national Aged Care Open Innovations Lab workshops
• Eight innovator speaker events across the country each year
• An 8-week innovation program for established businesses and start-ups to solve aged care industry problems, culminating in a business plan competition
• An online network actively linking participants with experts and business development coaches

Read more:

innovAGEING to accelerate Aged Care Innovation (.pdf)

This webinar will provide an update on the operations of My Aged Care. It will focus on key areas of interest for service providers and the assessment workforce including:

• operational benefits delivered as a result of system changes introduced in December 2017
• an update on system changes planned for late February 2018
• an update on quality reform

Read more:

Webinar: updates on My Aged Care operations and Quality Reform – 14 February