Aged care news highlights from the week ending 29 September 2023, aggregated by Ideagen.

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.

COVID-19 News 

COVID-19: Aged Care Support Program update

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, The 2023 COVID-19 Aged Care Support Program is in progress. Providers who have applied are already starting to receive outcomes and payments. Do not delay your application, particularly aged care providers who have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks prior to 30 June 2023. We have a dedicated team of assessors ready to help. Applying as soon as possible after outbreaks occur helps us process applications smoothly and reduces delays towards the end of the grant cycle. Grant information, frequently asked questions and specific eligibility requirements are available at GrantConnect (GO6223).

Other News

Providers gearing up for care minutes deadline

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, with October approaching, aged care providers have adopted a number of initiatives to ensure they meet the incoming care minutes target. From 1 October aged care homes will be required to provide an average of 200 minutes of care per resident per day – including 40 minutes of care from a registered nurse.

Mandatory care minutes webinar

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, this presentation is for residential aged care providers, and other interested stakeholders. It reviews the care minutes policy in advance of care minutes targets becoming mandatory from 1 October 2023, to help providers understand their care minutes responsibilities and assess their preparedness.

September 2023 indexation: updated schedules, quarterly review and change to maximum permissible interest rate

Updated Schedules

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, updated Schedules for residential and home care will apply from 20 September 2023. View the updated Schedule of fees and charges for care recipients who started care:

• on or after 1 July 2014
• 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 take effect from 20 September 2023, updating care recipients’ fees to align with any changes in their financial circumstances. The quarterly review for residential and home care will take place on 23 September 2023. The online claiming system for home care and residential care will be unavailable from 6pm Friday 22 September to 8am Monday 25 September. Care recipients and providers will receive letters advising any fee changes or refunds resulting from the quarterly review. View more information for residential care and home care on the Services Australia website.

Change to maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR)

The MPIR will increase to 8.15% for the period 1 October to 31 December 2023 for calculating:

• residential care accommodation prices
• interest on refunds of accommodation lump sum balances.
• View current and past rates.

What you need to do

Providers must ensure accommodation prices are correct and up to date on their website and printed materials, and on the My Aged Care website. For assistance contact the service desk on 1800 836 799. Providers publishing or charging accommodation prices over $550,000 must also ensure they have a valid approval to charge this amount from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) or the former Aged Care Pricing Commissioner. Approvals expire after 4 years. Providers need to renew their approvals if they want to keep charging over $550,000. For more information visit the IHACPA website.

Aged care wage increase: Information for local government and councils

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, a new factsheet to help local government and councils understand the aged care wage increase is available on our website. It includes information on:

• how to implement the Fair Work Commission’s 15 per cent wage increase for workers
• how the government funding applies across the different aged care programs.

Download the factsheet: Aged care – information for local government and councils. Read more about Better and Fairer Wages.

Act now for a Dementia-Friendly Future this Dementia Action Week

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, dementia impacts more than 400,000 Australians. Dementia is the leading cause of disease burden for Australians aged 65 years and older.  For more information and to get involved, visit Dementia Australia’s campaign page.

A report summarising feedback on key elements of a consultation paper for a new National Dementia Action Plan is now available on the department’s website. We are currently seeking feedback on the Draft National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines. This will guide the design of residential aged care accommodation to improve quality of life for older people, including creating more accessible and dementia-friendly environments.

Care minutes targets now available at service level

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, Providers can now see their service level care minutes targets for the October to December 2023 quarter in the My Aged Care service and support portal. Mandatory care minutes targets for residential aged care services begin on 1 October 2023. Targets are based on the amended care minutes allocations for the AN-ACC classes of residents who were in care from June to August 2023. Learn more about changes to care minutes allocations.

Wicking launches free e-learning modules

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, a new series of education modules developed for aged care workers is available online now. Funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care and designed by the University of Tasmania’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, the Equip Aged Care Learning Packages are aimed at anyone involved in the aged care sector including nurses, personal care workers, allied health professionals, volunteers, and families.

Staff learn best-practice dementia care in micro chunks

According to Australian Ageing Agenda, an education program is launching next week to help aged care workers cope with the challenging aspects of delivering care to people living with dementia. The implementation of the Dementia Microlearning Program coincides with Dementia Action Week, which commences Monday 18 September.

Variations to grant agreement for aged care Registered Nurses’ payment – Round 1

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, Applications for round 1 of the Aged Care Registered Nurses’ (ACRN) payment closed on 28 February 2023. Providers requiring variations to grant agreements for round 1 have until Friday 29 September 2023 at 2pm (AEST) to submit requests. We will not be able to accept any variations requests after this time. All variation requests must be sent to acrnpayment@health.gov.au.

Home Care News

A third of audited home care services non-compliant

According to Community Care Review, the number of complaints about home care services has fallen slightly while almost one in three services subject to a quality audit were found to be non-compliant with at least one standard, according to the quality commission’s latest report.

Home Care Package providers: Collecting the income-tested care fee

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, reminder that Home Care Package (HCP) providers are responsible for collecting the income-tested care fee (ITCF) from care recipients who can afford to contribute to their aged care. The ITCF is calculated by an income assessment completed by Services Australia.
 
Approved Home Care Package providers need to:

• know which care recipients were assessed as needing to pay ITCF
• discuss with care recipients and outline all fees in their home care agreement
• set up processes to correctly manage fees.

Providers cannot adjust the price submitted to Services Australia in their claim process to avoid collecting the ITCF. Use our understanding fees for home care fact sheet to explain fees to your care recipients.

Home Care Packages Program: Data Report now available

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, We have released the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program Data Report for the period 1 January – 31 March 2023. Key findings

• 268,744 people had access to a Home Care Package as at 31 March 2023. This is an 18% increase in access from the previous 12 months.
• In the March 2023 quarter, 25,495 people entered a HCP for the first time. This is the largest increase to date in a single quarter.
• There were 30,839 people in the National Priority System waiting for a package at their approved level. This is a decrease of 47% since 31 March 2022.

Read the full report on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AHW) GEN Aged Care Data website.

Legislation

Aged Care Legislation Amendment (September Indexation and Other Measures) Instrument 2023        [CTH] – commenced 20 Sep 2023

This instrument amends multiple instruments to apply the routine 6-monthly indexation of fees and means testing thresholds for residential care, home care and for some Australian Government supplements paid to aged care providers, in line with changes in the consumer price index and the age pension.