News

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

Read more:

COVID-19 booster vaccination information for residents of aged care facilities (.pdf)

Australian Defence Force support to residential aged care facilities (.pdf)

Improved payment arrangements for home care – Self-managed care recipient fact sheet (.pdf)

Improved payment arrangements for home care – care recipient fact sheet (.pdf)

Improved payment arrangements for home care – provider fact sheet (.pdf)

Improved Payment Arrangements (IPA) – questions and answers (.pdf)

Aged Care Council of Elders – Council member profiles (.pdf)

CDNA national guidelines for the prevention, control and public health management of COVID-19 outbreaks in residential care facilities in Australia (.pdf)

First 24 hours – managing COVID-19 in a residential aged care facility (.pdf)

Aged care funding instrument (ACFI) monitoring report – October 2021 (.pdf)

FAQs – Aged care workforce bonus payment (.pdf)

How residential aged care workers can prove your COVID-19 vaccination status to your employer (.pdf)

How in-home and community aged care workers can provide your COVID-19 vaccination status to your employer (.pdf)

Competition in residential aged care – for providers (.pdf)

Competition in residential aged care – for general public (.pdf)

COVID-19 in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Managing your workforce affected by Omicron (.pdf)

Interim Guidance on managing public health restrictions on residential aged care facilities (.pdf)

Interim Guidance on managing workforce in regards to COVID-19 in aged care (.pdf)

Council of Elders communique – 25 January 2022 (.pdf)

COVID-19 vaccination – What to expect on COVID-19 vaccination day at your residential aged care facility (.pdf)

Booster vaccination Information kit for residential aged care providers (.docx)

COVID-19 vaccination – Consent guidance material for residential aged care (.pdf)

Scope of vaccine services for the residential aged care booster program (.pdf)

COVID-19 vaccination – Vaccine dose policy (.pdf)

COVID-19 booster vaccination information for residential aged care workers (.pdf)

In this edition:

• New factsheet: Australian Defence Force Support to Residential Aged Care Facilities
• COVID-19 Grief and Trauma Resources for Aged Care
• Updated Victorian Guidelines for Managing COVID-19 exposures and outbreaks: Actions for Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs)

Read more:

Protecting Older Australians: COVID-19 Update – 16 February 2022

As announced in yesterday’s edition of the Protecting Older Australians newsletter the department is streamlining how approved providers of residential aged care services report cases of COVID-19 to the Commonwealth.

The department is hosting a free webinar to step through the new reporting process which will be via a new, online COVID-19 Support Portal.

Providers will be required to report COVID-19 cases or exposure through the COVID-19 Support Portal from Monday, 28 February 2022. This Portal will be accessed via the My Aged Care provider portal.

Details:

• For: Residential aged care providers, facility managers and IPC leads
• When: Wednesday 23 February 2022 – 2.00 to 3.00pm AEDT
• 11.00am – 12.00pm WA | 12.30pm – 1.30pm NT | 1.30 to 2.30pm SA | 1.00 – 2.00pm QLD

Read more:

Webinar on streamlined changes to reporting COVID-19 in residential aged care – 23 February 2022

Further to the updated guidance released in yesterday’s edition of the Protecting Older Australians newsletter, the following resources have been updated to further support the aged care sector.

Providers are encouraged to read these resources and familiarise themselves with the key changes as outlined below. Please also share these resources with your colleagues and networks.

• Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) COVID-19 Outbreaks in Residential Care Facilities
• First 24 hours checklist

Read more:

Updated guidance to support the aged care sector

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission new and updated resources.

Read more:

Aged care advocacy – fact sheet (.pdf)

Psychotropic self-assessment tool (.docx)

Psychotropic self-assessment tool – frequently asked questions (.pdf)

Senior Australians in residential aged care will have greater access to visitors and reduced lockdowns under new visitation guidelines response to the pandemic.

The Australian Government recognises the serious impact of social isolation on residents due to the strict requirements to manage the risk of COVID-19.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt and Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck welcomed the new advice, which has been endorsed by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and National Cabinet.

“The new advice will enable aged care providers to take a more flexible approach to visitation, and a more proportionate approach to locking down of facilities following an exposure or in the event of an outbreak,” Minister Hunt said.

Read more:

New visitation guidelines for aged care residents

Interim Guidance on managing public health restrictions on residential aged care facilities (.pdf)

Interim Guidance on managing workforce in regards to COVID-19 in aged care (.pdf)

COVID-19 in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Managing your workforce affected by Omicron (.pdf)

In light of the rapidly evolving coronavirus situation, the Victorian Government has developed a weekly survey for clinical facilities including Health Services and Aged Care facilities to understand current volumes of clinical waste stored on site and waste management constraints.

We would highly encourage you to take the time to complete this survey as it provides valuable information to assist in the ongoing response to the pandemic.

Read more:

VIC RACFs: Waste management – Survey and updated advice

Clinical Waste Backlog Survey

We’re renewing all PKI site certificates for Medicare and PBS.

We’ve automatically renewed most PKI site certificates.

Where automatic renewal wasn’t possible, we mailed a CD with the renewed certificate to healthcare locations. We sent most of the CDs in mid-2021 to the last known Certificate Manager registered in our system.

Read more:

Updates to Medicare and PBS PKI site certificates

Dedicated Commonwealth worker vaccination hubs are now available in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria for all aged care workers. The department will provide advice on additional hubs as they come online.

All aged care workers can get a priority booster appointment at the below sites through the links provided.

Dedicated worker vaccination hubs are available for a limited time so aged care workers should book without delay.

Read more:

Additional Dedicated Worker Vaccination Hubs – Book now

Commonwealth booster clinics for residents and workers eligible for their booster dose have now been completed in residential aged care facilities across Australia.

Read the media release issued today by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Greg Hunt MP.

As at 9 February 2022, providers reported that 19 per cent of eligible residents who have received a second dose are yet to receive a booster dose.

While the majority of residents were eligible to receive their booster dose, not all residents were able to a booster dose on the day of the in-reach clinic, consent was not completed in some cases and and some residents were not eligible at the time.

It is critical that every resident is offered the opportunity receive a booster dose.

Read more:

Update on residential aged care booster rollout