Aged care news highlights from the week ending 19 November 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

No significant developments this week.

Other News

RB 2021-15: Plan for continuous improvement requirements

According to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, this Regulatory Bulletin outlines the requirements for providers to have continuous improvement systems and processes that assess, monitor, and improve the quality and safety of care and services.

Talks underway for rights-based Aged Care Act

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, aged care stakeholders are in discussions with bureaucrats about the development of a rights-based aged care act, the head of the Older Persons Advocacy Network has told Australian Ageing Agenda. It follows calls from a group of 25 aged care consumer stakeholder groups calling on the government to expand on its commitment to deliver a “consumer‐focused” aged care act to one centred on the rights of older people earlier this week.

Better quality, lower prices at state-owned homes: study

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, government-owned aged care facilities provide higher quality of care and charge a lower average price than for-profit and not-for-profit facilities, University of Melbourne research has found. The researchers from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research used data under contract from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to look into how competition impacts quality of care and prices in residential aged care.

Have your say on the future of aged care

According to Aged Care 101, aged care recipients, their families, staff, providers and the wider community are being asked to have their say as the future of aged care is being decided.

The Federal Government has unveiled a new Ageing and Aged Care Engagement Hub, which is designed to be an open, central source of information where the sector and the community can see the areas that the Government is currently seeking feedback on.

The Hub currently is consulting on six reforms that you can contribute to, including:

• The draft Code of Conduct for aged care workers
• Aligning regulation across Australia’s aged care and disability sectors
• New residential aged care design standards
• Quality Indicators for residential aged care
• Quality Indicators for home care
• Improving choice in residential aged care

Victorian Health - new website and resources

(Note: this excerpt is from the Department of Health newsletter. We cannot provide a link to the full version of this story until the Department of Health uploads it to their website.)

According to the Department of Health, the Victorian Department of Health has launched a new website for COVID-19 information relevant to the residential aged care sector. The website has been developed to ensure a user friendly experience which allows the sector to promptly access the required information, allowing for effective preparation and response to outbreaks of COVID-19.

The website can be viewed at: www.health.vic.gov.au/covid-19/aged-care-sector-covid-19.

The new factsheet Supporting Safe Visits to Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) provides information and resources to assist residential aged care facilities to support residents receiving visitors safely. All updates from previous versions are highlighted in yellow.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Victorian Government Aged Care COVID team on agedcareCOVIDpreparedness@health.vic.gov.au if you have any questions.

Legislation

Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response No. 2) Bill 2021 – Senate Report Released

The Senate Committee has issued its report on the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response No. 2) Bill 2021, recommending that the Bill be passed.

Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Bill 2021 (No. 173 of 2021) [SA] - Draft consultation is open from 25 June to 5 pm to Tuesday, 3 August 2021

The Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Bill 2021 proposes amendments to the Advance Care Directives Act 2013 (the Act).

An Advance Care Directive is a legal document that empowers South Australians to record their values and wishes and make clear legal arrangements for future health care, end of life, preferred living arrangements and other personal matters.

The Review of the Act was conducted by Professor Wendy Lacey in 2019. During the Review, Professor Lacey consulted extensively with interested organisations, persons and professions; as well as members of the community. The Review made 29 recommendations and was tabled in Parliament on 1 August 2019. The South Australian Government’s Response to the Review was tabled in Parliament on 23 July 2020 and supported, in full or in principle, 22 of the recommendations, with further consultation proposed to inform the Government’s response to Recommendation 29.

Accordingly, the Bill was prepared to implement those recommendations supported by the Government that require a legislative amendment to the Act.