Aged Care Quality Bulletin #62 - February 2024

February 28, 2024 Sarah Burrell-Davis

Commissioner’s message

It is now just 8 weeks until we will come together with around 1,000 residential, home services and Commonwealth Home Support Programme providers for our National Aged Care Provider Conference in Adelaide.

In response to the high level of interest in attending, earlier this month we opened virtual registrations to enable providers to participate through live streaming for all sessions of the conference being held on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 April.

Our detailed conference program, featuring an exciting range of speakers from across the sector, is available on our website.

With all of our pre-conference workshops on Monday 22 April also having quickly reached capacity, the Commission will be producing a report on the key themes discussed in the workshops to share with the sector.

This month we set a new record for attendance at our sector webinars. Over 3,500 people from across the sector joined us live on 6 February to participate in a webinar on the new strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. If you missed this event, I do recommend you view the recording and presentations that are now available on our website. It was a great chance to hear about what to expect from the new Standards and how we are supporting providers to get ready to implement them.

In the webinar we discussed the draft guidance resources we released for public consultation. The resources include draft guidance on each of the 7 new Standards as well as guidance for workers and a pre-audit preparation tool. I encourage you to read through these draft resources and let us know (by 30 April) what you think and what else you would like to see included. You can read more about the consultation process in this issue.

Another key consultation exercise taking place is being led by the Department of Health and Aged Care. The department’s public consultation on the draft new Aged Care Act has now been extended until 8 March 2024. If you have not had your say on the draft, now is your chance and I encourage you to do so.

Aged care reform update

Have your say – Strengthened Quality Standards draft guidance

The Commission is consulting on our draft guidance resources which aim to help providers, aged care workers and other stakeholders to understand the new strengthened Quality Standards and their roles and responsibilities in meeting them. The resources also provide useful information for older people, and shortly we will be releasing further draft resources specifically for people using aged care and their representatives, for consultation.

We released our draft guidance resources on 6 February, coinciding with our webinar on supporting sector readiness for the new Quality Standards. Representatives from the Department of Health and Aged Care discussed the strengthened Standards, and Commission representatives outlined the various documents that the Commission has produced to help providers prepare for commencement of the new Standards.

The new strengthened Quality Standards are expected to be introduced together with the new Aged Care Act.

Visit the consultation page on our website to review the draft guidance resources and provide your feedback.

Hearing from people directly involved in providing and receiving aged care is crucial to help us develop guidance that is fit-for-purpose. We welcome input from anyone who has experience of the aged care sector.

We encourage providers to share the consultation details with their workforce and with the people they care for. Your feedback will help us to produce resources that are easy-to-understand and support the delivery of quality, person-centred aged care.

We’re particularly interested to hear about any information you think is missing or concepts and processes that need further explanation.

Before submitting your feedback, please download and read the following documents:

guidance documents for each strengthened Quality Standard
the draft audit methodology
an evidence framework
guidance for aged care workers
a pre-audit preparation tool
a request for information template
a glossary.

Questions to consider and assist with preparing your feedback are provided in the feedback form and the consultation documents.

We will also be engaging directly with selected providers, older people and peak bodies to obtain their feedback.

The last day for submitting feedback is 30 April 2024.

We will consider all the feedback we receive in revising and updating the resources. At the end of the consultation, we will publish a consultation report that explains what we’ve heard and the changes we’ve made to the resources.

Evidence-based resources

To support the draft guidance for the strengthened Quality Standards, we’re developing a central repository of current, evidence-based resources. These resources will help guide providers and support the aged care sector to understand the strengthened Standards.

To assist with this, we’re currently setting up a committee of internal and external stakeholders. This committee will be responsible for curating resources that apply to each strengthened Standard. The committee will use an agreed set of principles to assess the resources.

Through the centralised repository, providers will easily be able to access evidence-based resources to help them to understand and implement the strengthened Standards.

Draft new Aged Care Act consultation extended

The Australian Government has extended the consultation on the draft new Aged Care Act to 8 March 2024.

The Department of Health and Aged Care’s public consultation opened on 14 December 2023. So far they have heard from people who:

use aged care services
work in aged care
have an interest in the sector.

As part of this feedback, many people said that they wanted more time to review the draft Act and provide their feedback.

In response, the Government extended the consultation period. This will give people more opportunity to have their say on this important change to Australia’s aged care system.

Anyone can contribute to this consultation.

You can get involved and provide your feedback through the online survey, phone line, email or by sending a letter or attending a workshop.

The department invites registrations for additional virtual and face-to-face workshops. The additional face-to-face workshops are:

Brisbane on Friday 1 March
Adelaide and Darwin on Tuesday 5 March
Wollongong on Thursday 7 March.

Consultation closes at 7pm AEDT on Friday 8 March 2024.

You can find all consultation details, including the face-to-face workshops, on the department’s website.

Getting in on the Act!

Aged care in Australia is on the cusp of entering a new era with the anticipated introduction of a new Aged Care Act, new regulatory framework and strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, ensuring a person-centred approach to the delivery of care.

To understand the upcoming reforms and what they will mean in practice, we’re hosting a special national conference on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 April 2024 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

This free conference will bring together residential and home services providers to explore and share how the sector can best be prepared, and to look at how the sector is continuously improving to deliver safe, quality aged care.

Attending the conference in person will be up to 1,000 providers of residential care, home care, Commonwealth Home Support Programme services, and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program services.

Registrations for in-person attendance have now closed as we have reached full capacity.

In response to the strong interest shown by providers to participate in this conference, we’re pleased to announce the availability of virtual registration. This will enable those of you who missed out on registering for in-person attendance to access the plenary sessions in the 2-day conference remotely. Once we confirm your registration by email for the virtual sessions, you will receive detailed instructions one week prior to the conference on how you will be able to log on and live stream the conference.

Update on the home services assessment approach (multi-service quality reviews)

The Commission is responsible for conducting quality reviews of home services, including home care and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme services.

Home services are required to have a quality review every 3 years. Where possible we conduct ‘multi-service’ quality reviews. This is where a provider with more than one home service will have one quality review that includes all their services. However, this approach hasn’t always been possible due to resourcing, travel restrictions (COVID) and technological issues.

From February 2024, we’re improving our approach to quality reviews by:

validating with providers how their services are organised before doing a quality review
including all home services of a provider in the same quality review
increasing engagement with providers.

Engaging with providers gives us an opportunity to help them transition to a provider-level audit that will be required for re-registration under the New Aged Care Act. The proposed new audit process builds on the Commission’s current multi-service quality review process, by collecting and considering evidence from across a provider’s services to inform their quality review. This includes considering evidence of the provider’s management processes and how they apply across their services.

Consultation on the draft audit methodology is now open, and you can find more information on our website.

Leap year doesn’t affect refundable deposits refunds

Note for residential aged care service providers: The formula used to calculate refundable deposit refunds stays the same, even though 2024 is a leap year with 29 days in February. Using the same formula ensures that refund calculations are consistent whether it’s a leap year or not. Please don’t adjust your calculation to account for the extra day.

You can find detailed guidelines and resources on how to calculate refunds in our Refunding refundable deposits. This document helps you make sure your refund calculations are accurate and correct.

If you need more support or have any questions, please reach out to us at prudential@agedcarequality.gov.au. We’re here to help.

It is now just 8 weeks until we will come together with around 1,000 residential, home services and Commonwealth Home Support Programme providers for our National Aged Care Provider Conference in Adelaide.

Our detailed conference program, featuring an exciting range of speakers from across the sector, is available on our website.

Aged care reform update

Have your say – Strengthened Quality Standards draft guidance

The new strengthened Quality Standards are expected to be introduced together with the new Aged Care Act.

Visit the consultation page on our website to review the draft guidance resources and provide your feedback.

We’re particularly interested to hear about any information you think is missing or concepts and processes that need further explanation.

Before submitting your feedback, please download and read the following documents:

guidance documents for each strengthened Quality Standard
the draft audit methodology
an evidence framework
guidance for aged care workers
a pre-audit preparation tool
a request for information template
a glossary.

Questions to consider and assist with preparing your feedback are provided in the feedback form and the consultation documents.

We will also be engaging directly with selected providers, older people and peak bodies to obtain their feedback.

The last day for submitting feedback is 30 April 2024.

Evidence-based resources

Through the centralised repository, providers will easily be able to access evidence-based resources to help them to understand and implement the strengthened Standards.

Draft new Aged Care Act consultation extended

The Australian Government has extended the consultation on the draft new Aged Care Act to 8 March 2024.

The Department of Health and Aged Care’s public consultation opened on 14 December 2023. So far they have heard from people who:

use aged care services
work in aged care
have an interest in the sector.

As part of this feedback, many people said that they wanted more time to review the draft Act and provide their feedback.

In response, the Government extended the consultation period. This will give people more opportunity to have their say on this important change to Australia’s aged care system.

Anyone can contribute to this consultation.

You can get involved and provide your feedback through the online survey, phone line, email or by sending a letter or attending a workshop.

The department invites registrations for additional virtual and face-to-face workshops. The additional face-to-face workshops are:

Brisbane on Friday 1 March
Adelaide and Darwin on Tuesday 5 March
Wollongong on Thursday 7 March.

Consultation closes at 7pm AEDT on Friday 8 March 2024.

You can find all consultation details, including the face-to-face workshops, on the department’s website.

Getting in on the Act!

To understand the upcoming reforms and what they will mean in practice, we’re hosting a special national conference on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 April 2024 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Registrations for in-person attendance have now closed as we have reached full capacity.

Update on the home services assessment approach (multi-service quality reviews)

The Commission is responsible for conducting quality reviews of home services, including home care and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme services.

From February 2024, we’re improving our approach to quality reviews by:

validating with providers how their services are organised before doing a quality review
including all home services of a provider in the same quality review
increasing engagement with providers.

Consultation on the draft audit methodology is now open, and you can find more information on our website.

Leap year doesn’t affect refundable deposits refunds

You can find detailed guidelines and resources on how to calculate refunds in our Refunding refundable deposits. This document helps you make sure your refund calculations are accurate and correct.

If you need more support or have any questions, please reach out to us at prudential@agedcarequality.gov.au. We’re here to help.

Free business and workforce advice for aged care providers

Aged care providers can apply for free, independent and confidential advice to improve their financial and business operations.

The Department of Health and Aged Care has engaged EY to provide a Business and Workforce Advisory Service for aged care providers.

The service will help providers review their operations and give advice on:

managing cash flow, occupancy, direct care costs, budgeting and pricing
competition, strategy, reform impacts, governance and demand
workforce planning and management, rostering, capability development, human resources processes, and leadership and culture.

The department encourages providers in regional, rural and remote areas to apply.

You can learn more about the program on the Aged Care Business and Workforce Advisory Service website or contact agedcareadvisory@au.ey.com.

Volunteering in aged care – new resources

All the information you need to know about volunteering in aged care is now in one place.

New materials are available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website to help support aged care volunteers, managers and providers. At this link, you can find:

support, training and resources
volunteering opportunities across Australia
information about what is involved and who is eligible.

These resources were brought together in response to findings from the Volunteers in Aged Care Survey. The aim of this survey was to help the department understand what is working and how they can improve volunteer training and support.

The findings showed that there was a need for more resources to better support, recruit and train aged care volunteers and volunteer managers.

Find all the resources and support you need to best engage volunteers on the department’s website.

Housing Hub

Are you a residential aged care provider looking after one or more people under the age of 65? The Housing Hub is a disability housing online platform that offers expert training and information to people who support people with disability as well as those that provide housing (including residential aged care providers caring for people under 65 years old).

Housing Hub training is developed with input from people with lived experience of disability. It provides practical skills that will help you support the needs and preferences of people with complex support needs.

You can find more information about the Housing Hub and their training options on their website or by calling 1300 319 014.

Food, nutrition and dining

Food for thought – Supporting people living with dementia to eat and drink well

Good nutrition is important for everyone, including those living with dementia. A healthy diet for older Australians should include:

eating a variety and balance of foods from the 5 food groups
drinking enough fluids
being able to choose what they want to eat and drink (within reason).

It’s common for a person living with dementia to experience a loss of appetite and in some cases forget how and when to eat and drink. This can cause them not to eat and drink enough, putting them at risk of dehydration and malnutrition.

We’ve compiled our observations from visits to aged care services that are having a positive impact on people with dementia. We hope that sharing innovative and positive ideas may help services to support people with dementia to eat and drink well. You can read these positive stories in the full article on our website.

Remember that you can contact our Food, Nutrition and Dining Hotline to speak with professionals about issues, ideas or concerns about providing an enjoyable food, nutrition and dining experience. You can call the Hotline on 1800 844 044, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (AEDT).

Webinars

Sector Performance Report, July–September 2023

Tuesday 19 March 2024, 2.00pm – 3.00pm AEDT

The Commission’s quarterly sector performance report provides sector-wide performance data about residential aged care and home services. The report outlines overall rates of provider compliance using data gathered through site and quality audits.

Hosted by Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson PSM, the webinar will discuss the purpose of the sector performance report and how it informs the Commission’s regulatory activity. The other panellists will include Lisa Peterson PSM, Assistant Commissioner, Sector Capability and Regulatory Strategy, and Emma Jobson, Regulatory Policy and Intelligence.

The panel will explain how providers can use the report to review sector-wide information as well as gaining insights into how to use their own data to drive improvement. It is also an opportunity for providers to give feedback on the contents of the report.

The registration link will be available shortly on our webinar page.

Restrictive practices session 2: Myth busting use of chemical restraint

Monday 25 March 2024, 2.00pm – 3.00pm AEDT

Following on from the first myth busting webinar on 26 February 2024, this session will focus on unpacking some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the use of chemical restraint in aged care. It's important that you, as providers and clinical caregivers, have a clear understanding and approach to the use of this type of restrictive practice.

The session will also cover the legislative requirements and importance and value of tailored behaviour support plans.

Panelists for session 2:

Janet Anderson, PSM, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner
Melanie Wroth, MB BS, FRACP, Chief Clinical Advisor, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Loren de Vries, NP, Senior Practitioner, Behaviour Support, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Megan Cox, RN, Director, Restrictive Practices Unit, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Jenny Summerton RN, National Program Manager, Dementia Support Australia.

Further information and the registration link will be available shortly on our webinar page.

Recording available – Supporting sector readiness for the new strengthened Standards

The recording and presentation are now available for our Supporting sector readiness for the new strengthened Standards webinar that was held on 6 February. This webinar was about the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and discussed our new draft guidance resources that have been released for consultation.

Recording available – Supporting people with dementia to eat and drink well

The recording and presentation are now available for the fifth webinar in our Food, Nutrition and Dining series, held on 22 February. This webinar focused on how aged care providers and staff can support people living with dementia to eat and drink well.

Recording available – Restrictive practices session 1: Myth busting

The recording of our Restrictive practices: Myth busting webinar held on 26 February is now available. In the webinar, our panellists unpacked some of the myths surrounding restrictive practices to make sure that providers and clinical caregivers have a clearer understanding and approach to the use of restrictive practices.

Governing for reform

Webinar – The importance of leadership and culture in engaging the aged care workforce

Wednesday 6 March 2024, 1:00pm – 2:00pm AEDT

In this webinar you will hear from leaders who know the value of prioritising leadership involvement in creating a thriving workforce. The discussion will include:

the role leadership has in creating a positive organisational culture
the skills you need to build a positive workplace culture and how this aligns with an ‘older Australians at the centre of care’ focus
strategies to create a positive culture for your organisation including:
- communication and transparency
- employee development and growth
- diversity and inclusivity within the workplace
understanding how rewards and recognition work to improve employee wellbeing as well as attract and retain good staff.

Training and resources

Online workshops for approved providers

The Commission regularly hosts online workshops for approved providers of residential aged care and home services.

Upcoming workshops in March include:

The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) in home services
Monitor and assess the performance of your service for home services
Understanding the current Quality Standards
Effective Incident Management Systems.

Visit our Workshops webpage for further information and registration details.

New resources