News

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission new and updated resources.

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Enjoying dining – Consumer fact sheet (.pdf)

Getting the dining experience right – Aged care staff fact sheet (.pdf)

Getting the dining experience right – Provider fact sheet (.pdf)

8 facts you need to know about each resident – poster (.pdf)

Know, Observe, Support, Act – poster (.pdf)

Dining in residential aged care – tips and tricks fact sheet (.pdf)

Getting the dining experience right – poster (.pdf)

Your dining experience – Consumer poster (.pdf)

Food and dining preferences – fact sheet (.pdf)

Prudential Standards – Governance Standard – fact sheet (.pdf)

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

Prudential Standards – Disclosure fact sheet (August 2022) (.pdf)

Home care letter to consumers advising of visit (.pdf)

Noticeboard poster advising of visit (.pdf)

Noticeboard poster unannounced visit (.pdf)

Site audit notice sent with reminder email (.pdf)

Site audit poster sent with reminder email (.pdf)

Form – Approved provider notification of a material change (.docx)

Fire safety is critically important, especially as Home Care and CHSP recipients may be vulnerable and may lack mobility.

A fire can take hold in just three minutes, yet it only takes seconds to prevent one. Already this winter, preventable fire fatalities have almost tripled with most fatal fires occurring in living areas and bedrooms.

Sufficiently operating sprinkler systems, smoke alarms, emergency exit signs, fire blankets, fire extinguishers, fire safety plans and other safety equipment must be addressed.

Fires are dark and disorientating and you can’t smell smoke in your sleep. A working smoke alarm is the only thing that will provide you with an early warning to escape.

People who are deaf or have a severe hearing loss may have difficulty in hearing conventional smoke alarms and evacuation systems. There are specialised smoke alarms available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

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Winter Fire Safety

The new Aged Care Payment System (ACPS) has now gone live, which means the online claiming channels including Aged Care Provider Portal (ACPP) and Aged Care Web Services are now open.

You may start lodging claims and submitting events such as ACFI, entry (including Palliative on entry), leave, and departures.

We encourage providers to use the range of resources about the new ACPS. These are available on the Services Australia Health Professional Education Resources page.

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New Aged Care Payment System, plus care minutes targets now available on support portal

Consumer Experience Interviews with older Australians residing in aged care will give vital insight into the quality of services they receive.

Consumer Experience Interviews are underway, due for completion by 31 October 2022. The information collected from Consumer Experience Interviews will contribute to facilities’ Star Ratings, due to be published in December 2022. Non-participation will lead to a low score.

Residential aged care services are being contacted to schedule a date for interviews. All interviews must be scheduled by 16 September 2022 in order to participate in the 2022 CEI program.

Please be responsive to requests from IQVIA and avoid rescheduling to ensure participation.

Read more:

Consumer Experience Interviews – act now

News about the reforms:

• Webinar: Home Care Packages (HCP) Program Assurance Reviews
• Register for the HCP Program Assurance Community of Practice
• Upcoming HCP Program Assurance Reviews
• Webinar: Consumer Experience Interviews – Star Ratings
• Food and nutrition reporting is changing
• Aged Care Financial Report submission and helpdesk
• AN-ACC funding estimator
• Webinar: Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) update

Other news:

• Changes to the Aged Care Pricing Commissioner function
• Update your provider information on My Aged Care: Provider Summary and Service Information
• Diversity Coaching Workshop: The Inclusive Service Standards for Beginners
• Register now: Governing for Reform in Aged Care program and webinar
• Aged Care Learning Information System (Alis): Free trial
• Employer Engagement Webinars: Attracting workers into aged care
• Webinar: Grief and Loss
• Vision Australia webinar: Understanding low vision and blindness
• Webinar recording: Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing Free Translations in Aged Care
• Reminder: Take part in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s project

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Your Aged Care Update: Issue 16, 2022 (.pdf)

Commonwealth vaccination in-reach clinics are available to facilities unable to secure a primary care provider or conduct a self-run on-site vaccination clinic.

The Department is extending its Expression of Interest (EOI) process for COVID-19 in-reach vaccination clinics until 31 December 2022.

This will allow any residents who were unable to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations over winter due to various reasons to catch up with their COVID-19 vaccination schedule.

We encourage providers to register your interest for an in-reach clinic: Residential Aged Care COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic – Registration Form.

The Department has written to residential aged care providers, please read the letter for further details on the extension of these clinics.

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COVID-19 vaccination in-reach clinics extended

Residential Aged Care COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic – Registration Form

Commonwealth COVID-19 in-reach clinics extended until 31 December (.pdf)

The Labor Albanese Government has held an Aged Care Workforce Pre-Jobs Summit Roundtable with more than 20 stakeholders in Parliament House, to better understand the practical solutions needed in the aged care sector.

The Aged Care Workforce Pre-Jobs Summit Roundtable was attended by universities, unions, advisory councils, providers, community services, and advocate groups.

Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, led the roundtable with Morris Iemma facilitating.

The event provided an opportunity for the sector to contribute to the Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit and the Employment White Paper.

Major topics discussed in the three-hour session included how to boost job security, making aged care an attractive place to work, access to education and training, the role of migration in aged care and creating innovation in the industry.

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Aged care roundtable advances practical solutions

Ambulance Victoria is introducing the Residential Aged Care Enhanced Response (RACER) pathway for triaging Triple Zero (000) calls for people living in aged care homes.

Under RACER, a Referral Services Triage Practitioner will request an ambulance or, where appropriate, will refer patients to alternative services such as Residential-In-Reach or the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED).

Launched in February, VVED is a video telehealth medical consultation service that provides clinical assessment, care and support for those patients who don’t need urgent emergency care for certain patient cohorts. Under RACER, this service will be expanded to enable Ambulance Victoria’s Triage Services to refer patients from residential aged care homes.

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Ambulance Victoria’s responses to Triple Zero calls from aged care homes

Home Care Package (HCP) providers must issue each care recipient a monthly statement showing their available funds, how the funds are being spent and the amount of unspent funds.

Previously, providers needed to include the total provider-held unspent funds for current and previous payment periods in the monthly statement.

From the September 2022 payment period, you must split out the unspent funds into the:

• Commonwealth portion of provider-held funds
• care recipient portion of provider-held funds, and
• home care account balance.

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Aged Care Alert: Home Care Package monthly statements are changing

Monthly Statement Resources

Provider Guide Better Practice Home Care Package Statement (.pdf)

On 2 August, the Australian Government passed the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022. The first legislation to pass in the new Parliament, the Bill implements nine measures to improve aged care and responds to 17 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

The Bill establishes the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN ACC) funding model, a new Code of Conduct and banning orders, and extends the Serious Incident Response Scheme to all in-home care providers. It also extends the functions of the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority, which will lead to better price-setting for aged care.

Other measures enshrine transparency and accountability of approved providers, and improve quality of care and safety for older Australians receiving aged care services.

A second piece of aged care legislation, the Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022, was introduced on 27 July and is before the House of Representatives.

Read more:

Aged Care Alert: Passage of aged care legislation

Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022

Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022