Aged care news highlights from the week ending 22 December 2023, aggregated by Ideagen 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 Ideagen CompliSpace.
No significant developments this week.
According to COTA and OPAN, the Australian Government today released the Aged Care Act Exposure Draft, together with a consultation paper that explains the main concepts. The government also released the summary report of its recent consultations on the foundations of the new Aged Care Act. It’s pleasing to see that this report picks up contributions from those who participated in the COTA Australia and OPAN-led forums as well as from our joint submission with 11 other organisations. The new Aged Care Act will inform and govern the future of aged care services in this country.
According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the federal government’s introduction of new workforce requirements for residential aged care was “largely effective”, says an independent report.
Taking data from RMIT ABC Fact Check, Aged Care Insite decided to see how the Albanese government policy commitments for the aged care sector panned out since Labor's election last year. At the year-end, two promises have been delivered, four are in progress, and one has been broken.
According to ELDAC, voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws came into effect in New South Wales on 28 November 2023, which means VAD is now legal in all Australian States. The laws in each State are similar, but there are key differences. ELDAC have updated VAD educational resources for health professionals to support their understanding of these laws when caring for people receiving aged care.
Published care minute targets for this quarter have changed for most residential aged care services – including by more than a minute for 41 per cent of services, the Department of Health and Aged Care has told Australian Ageing Agenda.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Aged Care Wages – Historical Leave Liability Grant Opportunity (GO6625) is now open, closing 2pm (AEDT) 31 January 2024. This is a one-off grant. It will fund providers for 50% of the cost of increased leave entitlements in the 2023-24 FY, attributable to the Fair Work Commission’s 15% wage increase. For more information, refer to the Grant Opportunity Guidelines and provider factsheet. If you have further questions, email Grant.ATM@health.gov.au and quote GO6625.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the fourth Quarterly Financial Snapshot for the period 1 April to 30 June 2023 is now available. It draws on data submitted through the Quarterly Financial Report, including:
Read or download a copy of Quarterly financial snapshot of the aged care sector – Quarter 4 2022-23 – April to June 2023.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, from 1 January 2024, the Governing for Reform in Aged Care Program will be available to anyone working in the aged care sector. Current participants should note:
For more information on the program visit Governing for Reform in Aged Care on the ACQSC website.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, approvals for Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RADs) and Daily Accommodation Payments (DAPs) are current for 4 years. At the end of the 4 years, you must re-apply to the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA). For more information about expiring RAD approvals visit Expiring refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) approvals on the IHACPA website.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, we will publish the care minutes target for the January-March 2024 quarter on the My Aged Care service and support portal on 15 December 2023. The care minutes target are the required amount of care minutes for each service for the March quarter 2024. Shortly after 15 December we will also publish the targets on our website.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the bulk submission template for the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program has been updated. Please use the new template on the QI Program resources webpage. When pasting data into the bulk submission template, please only use the paste values function. This will preserve formatting when data is copied and pasted.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, residential aged care providers should submit their November payment claims to Services Australia by 15 December. This will allow for early calculation of January 2024 advance payments. The January 2024 advances will be paid from 18 December 2023 onwards. If the November claim is received after 15 December, the January 2024 advance payment will be paid once the November 2023 claim has been finalised. Submit your claim in the Aged Care Provider Portal - Services Australia.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the second round of applications for the Aged Care Registered Nurses’ Payments grant is closing at 2:00 pm (AEDT) on 20 December 2023. The grant opportunity guidelines (GO6557) are available on Grant Connect.
According to Australian Ageing Agenda, experienced leader and public policy developer Ms Andrea Kelly has been appointed the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner, the government has announced.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, on 6 December 2023, we invited eligible Home Care Package (HCP) providers to apply for the Fair Work Commission HCP Supplementation Grant. Applications close 31 January 2024. This grant will support HCP providers with care recipients on a Level 4 package with insufficient funding to cover the 15% increase to award wages. HCP providers can apply for a maximum of $2,000 per eligible Level 4 care recipient (for the 2023-24 financial year only) to cover this shortfall. If the person:
For more information, read the Grant Opportunity Guidelines on GrantConnect.
No significant developments this week.