News

The Australian Government today passed legislation requiring aged care homes to have around-the-clock nursing care, a key election commitment.

The Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022 delivers on the Government’s commitment to have 24/7 access to a registered nurse in residential aged care services.

This Bill will help older Australians living in residential aged care receive immediate clinical attention when needed. It will mean fewer unnecessary trips to hospital, leading to better care outcomes.

It also includes measures to make sure public dollars are being spent on care with the publication of regular financial and operational reporting from approved providers.

This will include how much is spent on care, nursing, food, maintenance, cleaning, administration, and profits.

These changes will provide older Australians, their families and carers with practical information to help make more informed aged care decisions.

The legislation also bans exit fees and enables the capping of administration and management charges in the Home Care Packages Program.

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Delivering on Labor’s commitment to put nurses back into nursing homes 24/7

Australia’s aged care sector has been neglected for too long. This Budget takes the first steps to deliver on reforms to ensure older Australians in care are treated with the respect they deserve with a $3.9 billion package of reforms.

• The Albanese Government will mandate the number of care minutes residents receive – starting with 200 care minutes including 40 nursing minutes from 1 October 2023, and 215 care minutes including 44 nursing minutes from 1 October 2024. Aged care homes will receive more funding to deliver on our promise to provide more care minutes to residents. In addition, from 1 July 2023 all aged care homes must have a registered nurse on site 24/7. These commitments will be met with a combined investment of $2.5 billon.
• Aged care residents will also have access to better food, with the Maggie Beer Foundation funded to educate and train staff to meet new nutritional standards ($5m).
• Older people in care will experience a strengthened and professional aged care workforce. A new national registration scheme for personal care workers will include a code of conduct, ongoing training and English proficiency ($3.6m). Continuity of care will also be improved by requiring providers to preference direct employment.

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Budget October 2022–23: Restoring dignity to aged care

News about the reforms:

• Webinar: Star Ratings 18 November

Other news:

• Reminder: Employer Engagement Webinars: Expanding the Aged Care Workforce through Australian Apprenticeships (Traineeships)
• Providers: Update your cost information on My Aged Care
• Free Equip Aged Care Learning Packages
• Improve understanding and treatment of drug users
• Victoria’s Palliative Care Advice Service

Services Australia Aged Care Payment System update:

• AN-ACC claims processing and payment statements
• Residential aged care payment statement PDF
• AN-ACC classification display issue

Read more:

Your Aged Care Update newsletter – Issue #2022/24 (.pdf)

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission new and updated resources.

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Partnerships in care – Partner fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

Visiting essentials for partners in care

Visiting essentials during an infectious outbreak

Partnerships in care – Partner information package (October 2022) (.pdf)

Partnerships in care – Provider fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

Partnerships in care – Provider toolkit (October 2022) (.pdf)

What is the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

20 September 2022 – Letter to Board Chairs and CEOs of approved care providers regarding the Governing for Reform in Aged Care (.pdf)

31 August 2022 – Commissioner’s letter to aged care consumers regarding national aged care reforms (.pdf)

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission – Capability review fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

How prepared are you for a COVID-19 outbreak? – fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

Is my aged care service ready for a COVID-19 outbreak? fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

Is my loved one’s aged care service ready for a COVID-19 outbreak? (October 2022) (.pdf)

Infection Prevention and Control Leads: Updates for providers (October 2022) (.pdf)

COVID-19 restrictions in residential aged care – your rights fact sheet (September 2022) (.pdf)

Prudential Standards – Financial and Prudential Reporting Responsibilities fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

DRAFT: Code of Conduct for Aged Care: Guidance for providers (.pdf)

Aged care reforms – an overview fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

Aged care reforms – a regulatory perspective fact sheet (October 2022) (.pdf)

Consultation on the revised Aged Care Quality Standards is open now until 25 November 2022.

The Department is conducting an urgent review of the Aged Care Quality Standards, as recommended by the Royal Commission, and is seeking feedback on a new, strengthened version of the standards.

The Quality Standards provide a shared understanding of what is expected in aged care, and are a valuable resource for older Australians, their families, providers and staff alike.

To find out more about the revised Aged Care Quality Standards and have your say, please register for an online focus group, read the consultation paper(s), view our webinar and complete the survey.

Read more:

Aged Care Quality Standards Consultation

Revised Aged Care Quality Standards – Detailed draft for public consultation (.pdf)

Revised Aged Care Quality Standards – summary draft for public consultation (.pdf)

Consultation Paper – Detailed Aged Care Quality Standards Review (.pdf)

Consultation Paper – Aged Care Quality Standards Review (.pdf)

Evaluation of the Aged Care Quality Standards – Evaluation report (.pdf)

Independent evaluation of the Aged Care Quality Standards – Summary (.pdf)

Review of the Aged Care Quality Standards

Survey and consultation papers: revised Aged Care Quality Standards

Services Australia previously advised the quarterly review of residential care fees was scheduled to be run on 15 October 2022.

The quarterly review will not be run on this date, due to ongoing claims quality checking and the cautious approach Services Australia is taking to the new Aged Care Payment System.

We will advise once a future date is determined.

Further information for Residential Care is available on the Services Australia website.

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Residential aged care quarterly review date

Review of aged care fees

Revised Schedule of Aged Care Subsidies and Supplements

The Schedule of Aged Care Subsidies and Supplements applying from 1 October 2022 has been revised regarding the amount of the Fixed component (Base Care Tariff or BCT) for services where funding is calculated based on operational places (per day). The BCT notional funding per operational place for these services is now expressed as a three decimal place amount.

Information on BCTs for these services is in the updated schedule.

Providers can email questions about BCTs to ACFR@health.gov.au.

Important change to the 40% supported resident rules

The 40% supported resident rules that apply to the maximum amount of accommodation supplement and concessional resident supplement payable for eligible permanent residents were simplified from 1 October 2022.

Assessment of the proportion of care provided to supported residents will be made on a calendar month basis rather than daily, and the requirement is for 40% or more supported residents (instead of more than 40%).

For this purpose, supported residents are residents eligible for either concessional resident supplement or accommodation supplement.

Read more:

Revised Aged Care Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements and an important change to the 40% supported resident rules

Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements for Aged Care (.pdf)

Accommodation supplement for aged care

Concessional resident supplement for aged care

We feel for everyone battling the current floods and would like to offer any support we can. If the floods have impacted your home or you have taken on the residents of another home, and you require anything, then please reach out to the Help Desk team or your dedicated Client Manager for support.

If you have taken on residents that have relocated due to the floods, then please note the Department of Health and Aged Care has released a fact sheet on how to manage this process. It covers how funding works and what providers should do when temporarily relocating residents in an emergency situation.

Read more:

Temporary relocation of residents in emergency situations (.pdf)

A list of new and updated resources – including apps, audio and video resources and other publications – about aged care.

Read more:

Care and Support Sector Code of Conduct and Consultation Summary Report – Easy Read (.pdf)

Temporary relocation of residents in emergency situations (.pdf)

A new program for in-home aged care – Discussion paper (.pdf)

A new program for In-Home Aged Care – Overview (.pdf)

Responses to questions from the Home Care Packages program – Indirect and care management charges webinar (.pdf)

Poster for the review of Aged Care Quality Standards (.pdf)

Terms of reference – Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission capability review (.pdf)

Key findings from the first Home Care Packages Program review (video)

Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements for Aged Care (.pdf)

National Guidelines for the Prevention, Control and Public Health Management of Outbreaks of Acute Respiratory Infection (including COVID-19 and Influenza) in Residential Care Facilities (.pdf)

Star Ratings will be published for all residential aged care services by the end of 2022.

Star Ratings will be based on Compliance and Resident Experience, as well as Quality Measures and Staffing information reported by approved providers through the:

• National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indictor Program (QI Program) – 1 July to 30 September 2022 quarter for the current 5 quality indicators is due by 21 October 2022.
• Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) – 1 July to 30 September 2022 period reporting is due by 4 November 2022 using the Forms Administration’s data collection portal.

Late or non-submission of data is expected to result in a 1 Star Rating for the relevant sub-category and reduce a service’s overall Star Rating.

Find more information about Star Ratings, the QI Program and QFR on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Read more:

REMINDER: Star Ratings data is due now

Star ratings for residential aged care

National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program)

Quarterly Financial Report

Forms Administration portal