Aged care news highlights from the week ending 17 September 2021, aggregated by CompliSpace.

The information in the Weekly Wrap is aggregated from other news sources to provide you with news that is relevant to the aged care sector across Australia and worldwide. Each paragraph is a summary of the subject matter covered in the particular news article. The information does not necessarily reflect the views of CompliSpace.

Coronavirus/COVID-19 News

Government applauds “extraordinary” aged care COVID response

According to Australian Seniors News, the Federal Government has today commended workers across Australia’s aged care sector for what it has described as an “extraordinary commitment” to protect themselves and those they care for from COVID-19. As the first sector to benefit from a national approach to mandatory vaccinations, staff at residential aged care facilities nationwide have shown leadership and a willingness to put others first, Federal Health and Aged Care Minister, Greg Hunt said.

Other News

Looming Aged Care Staffing Crisis: Summary of the Latest Workforce Report

According to Aged Care Essentials, a new report by CompliSpace reveals that almost 20 percent of the residential aged care workforce are set to quit in the next 12 months. According to the 2021 A Perfect Storm: What’s Driving Australia’s Aged Care Staffing Crisis report, poor pay, stress and excessive paperwork are the top three reasons why Australia is on the verge of an aged care staffing crisis. Here’s what providers need to know.

Workers set to flee nursing homes

According to The Australian, almost one in five nursing home workers plans to quit in the next year, new report finds. [Note: this article is behind a paywall].

September 2021 indexation: Updated Schedules, Quarterly Review and decrease to MPIR

According to the Department of Health, an update of the Schedules for residential and home care fees and charges and subsidies and supplements will take effect from 20 September 2021.

Updated Schedules

View the updated Schedule of Fees and Charges for:

• Residential and home care recipients who started care on or after 1 July 2014
• Residential and home care recipients who started care before 1 July 2014

View the updated Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements.

Quarterly Review

Services Australia’s Quarterly Review of residential and home care fees will be effective from 20 September 2021. Care recipients and providers will receive letters letting them know if there is a change to a care recipient’s fees or if a refund may be due. Further information was provided in Newsletter Issue 16.

Decrease to MPIR from 1 October 2021

The maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR) will decrease to 4.01% for the period from 1 October to 31 December 2021 for calculating:

• accommodation prices
• interest on refunds of accommodation lump sum balances

View current and past rates of the MPIR.

What you need to do

Providers must ensure:

• their published accommodation prices on the My Aged Care website are up to date. If you have any questions contact the My Aged Care service provider and assessor helpline on 1800 836 799.
• the accommodation prices published on their own website and in relevant written materials are up to date.

Government data shows increase in care staff, sector highlights resourcing constraints

According to Aged Care Guide, the Federal Government has released the findings of its 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census Report, collected between December 2020 - January 2021, which shows a 38 percent increase in direct care staff across all disciplines of the sector since 2016. While there has been success at attracting workers to the sector, keeping them in the workforce is a different matter. Over a 12 month period (between Nov 2019 - Nov 2020), 37 percent of Nurse Practitioners (NP) and Registered Nurses (RNs) left their employer to work either at another facility or to leave the workforce altogether.

Much work to do on transition to rights-based aged care, say stakeholders

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, developing a new rights-based Act for aged care is ongoing and “a really big undertaking,” a health department bureaucrat has told a forum on spiritual care in aged care. Meaningful Ageing Australia hosted a forum on Thursday about the upcoming aged care reforms and the importance of social, emotional and spiritual support in aged care. Department of Health first assistant secretary, quality and assurance division Amy Laffan said work has commenced on the new rights-based Aged Care Act recommended by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Anonymous reporting tool exposes failures in aged care

According to Aged Care Guide, a new whistleblower reporting tool established by United Workers Union (UWU) has had over 2,000 aged care workers expose safety risks and staffing issues in aged care facilities across Australia in the last two months.

Webinar on aged care funding reforms: 23 September

The Department of Health will be hosting a webinar to introduce and update you on new and upcoming funding and reporting requirements:

• the new Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) which will replace the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI)
• the AN-ACC shadow assessment process
• provider support services
• basic daily fee reporting requirements
• changes to the Aged Care Financial Report (ACFR).

The webinar will be held on Thursday 23 September 2021, 3:30-5:00pm AEST. It is relevant for aged care executives including CEOs, CFOs, quality and assurance managers and residential aged care facility managers. This is the first in a series of aged care reforms webinars focused on funding and reporting.

Register now and learn more about the webinar on the department’s website. If you have any questions or trouble accessing the webinar please contact ACFR@health.gov.au

Aussies willing to pay more tax to fund quality aged care

According to Aged Care Insite, new research has found that 61 per cent of Australians would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund better quality aged care services. Funding has long been a contentious issue in the aged care sector. The government's response to the royal commission findings pledged $17.7 billion to improve the sector, however many argue this isn't enough.

Dementia in Australia 2021 report released

According to the Department of Health, to coincide with Dementia Action Week (20–26 September), a new report into dementia has been released. The Dementia in Australia 2021 report provides a comprehensive picture of dementia and its impacts on Australia’s health and aged care systems.

Pacific migrant lifeline for aged care sector at front of Government’s thinking

According to The Weekly Source, the Federal Government is looking to ease the workforce shortages in the aged care sector by allowing thousands of Pacific migrants into the nation. Earlier this month, the Federal Government allowed student visa holders working in aged care to work more hours. Now it is seeking to attract an additional 12,500 aged care, agriculture, accommodation and hospitality workers to Australia by March next year through improvements to Australia’s labour mobility programs – the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) and the Seasonal Worker Program (SWP).

Legislation

Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 [QLD] – passed 16 September 2021

The objective of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 is to establish a legal framework for voluntary assisted dying in Queensland, allowing eligible people who are suffering and dying to choose the timing and circumstances of their death.