Aged care news highlights from the week ending 2 June 2023, 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.
No significant developments this week.
According to The Weekly Source, the Albanese Government is seeking to kick off a national conversation on Plan B in a “landmark” new paper examining the sustainable funding of aged care – including if consumers should pay more for care.
According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the federal government has suggested co-contributions as a potential way to fund the aged care sector in the future. As the authors of the Draft National Care and Support Economy Strategy 2023 note: ”Due to demographic changes – an ageing population and decreasing birth rate – there will be a smaller pool of working aged people contributing income tax into the future … This means that there needs to be a broader national conversation about the expectations on government-funded service provision and the relative contribution between governments and individuals.”
According to Australian Ageing Agenda, only a fraction of residential aged care homes have the workforce capacity to meet incoming nurse and care staff requirements, according to a new report. In the third edition of Australia’s Aged Care Sector Report released today, researchers from the UTS Ageing Research Collaborative say – out of 1,099 aged care homes surveyed – only 10 per cent “have a direct care workforce that would meet all three incoming minimum staffing standards.”
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, from 1 July 2023, a temporary threshold of an average of 20 hours of registered nurse (RN) coverage per day will apply to the 24/7 RN supplement. This is to help providers build up their staffing while they transition to the new 24/7 RN responsibility. Facilities may receive the supplement if they:
Payment of the supplement does not indicate compliance with the 24/7 RN responsibility.
This issue of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s Bulletin covers:
According to Australian Ageing Agenda, an overregulated aged care sector is preventing providers from delivering even better services – that was one of the messages to come out of an industry event in Sydney on Monday.
According to Aged Care Insite, aged care is set for a 'dining revolution' as a new food unit and a team of dietitians are poised to launch by the end of June. Backed by a $12.9m allocation from the federal budget, the move aims to enhance the quality of food and nutrition in residential aged care. The food unit will conduct up to 720 yearly checks and focus on 'at-risk homes' to ensure residents receive nutritious meals.
According to Aged Care Insite, acute workforce issues and financial instability will push more aged care homes to close unless key funding and retention problems are addressed by the federal government, according to the latest industry report card.
According to Australian Ageing Agenda, the body tasked with determining the price of aged care services has released its aged care pricing advice for 2023-24. An autonomous government agency, the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority was established to provide the government with “impartial, timely and transparent advice” on the efficient price for health and residential aged care services based on the best available data and stakeholder consultation.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is offering free coaching sessions to all governing body and executive team members of approved providers, as part of the Governing for Reform in Aged Care Program. Find out more and register your interest in participating.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the new Support at Home program will now be implemented from 1 July 2025. An extra 12 months will allow time to refine the program, with input from experts across a range of design elements and further consultation with older people and providers.
The 1 July 2025 start date will also ensure providers are well prepared for the reforms and avoid disruption for care recipients. All existing in-home aged care services will continue until 30 June 2025. Read more about in-home aged care reforms in the 2023-24 Budget and visit Reforming in-home aged care to stay up to date.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, the department has published a provider fact sheet and care recipient fact sheet about the 11.9% increase to the Home Care Packages (HCP) subsidy rate (including annual indexation) from 1 July 2023.
This subsidy increase will pass on the Fair Work Commission’s 15% award wage increase and ensure HCP recipients continue to receive the same level of care and services. This increase is less than 15% to account for many care recipients using their HCP to access goods, equipment, allied health and home modifications, which are not impacted by the wage increase, alongside their nursing and personal care services. The department is sending a letter to all care recipients and their authorised representatives to notify them of this change. For more information, visit the department’s website.
According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, in July 2023, Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) providers will receive a one-off early grant payment that covers 6 months from July to December 2023. This will ensure eligible aged care workers can start to receive increases to award wages from 30 June 2023.
This will provide support while we finalise a new grant for CHSP providers to apply for funding to meet the costs associated with wage increases, including leave liabilities. Providers must manage this funding sustainably until monthly payments re-commence in January 2024. Further information about the grant opportunity will be available in the coming weeks on Grant Connect and CHSP news.
According to Community Care Review, home care providers can apply for up to $250,000 a year to increase service delivery under the Commonwealth Home Support Program, operators have been told.
According to Community Care Review, when it comes to reforming the in-home care services sector, no idea should be left unconsidered, delegates at an industry conference have been told in Sydney this week.
No significant developments this week.