Your Aged Care Update # 18/24
Notable dates
Consultation: Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner
Closes 21 June
Quality Standards draft guidance feedback
Extended to 19 May
In this issue
News about the reforms
Preparing for the new regulatory model
We’ve started preparing for the transition of providers to the new regulatory model.
Under the new Aged Care Act, all aged care providers must be registered to deliver Australian Government-funded aged care.
To make the transition to registered provider status as easy as possible, all existing providers will be automatically set up as registered from day 1 of the new Act.
You will continue to operate as normal during this transition process.
You don’t need to do anything just yet. We’ll be in contact over the coming months to confirm your details and let you know when you need to take any action.
Visit preparing providers for the new model to find out more about the new registration and renewal of registration process.
Sector news
Resources and training on aged care volunteering
Training and support is available for providers and Volunteer Managers on aged care volunteering.
This includes a collection of free, publicly available resources.
We encourage all aged care Volunteer Managers and providers to access the support and training so you feel confident in your role.
Access training and support for providers and volunteer managers to find the resources available.
Webinar: Digital Transformation Tech Talk
You are invited to join a webinar on digital transformation program milestones for the aged care sector.
When: Tuesday 21 May, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm (AEST)
Hear about:
Business to Government developer portal milestones
data standardisation for the aged care sector
End of Life Direction for Aged Care (ELDAC) dashboard
Ask us about all these topics and more in our open Q&A.
Register now.
We run regular Tech Talk webinars for the aged care sector and IT professionals on our digital transformation work. Watch past Tech Talk webinars.
Residential care
Updated Star Ratings on the My Aged Care website
Updated Star Ratings are available on the My Aged Care website via the ‘Find a Provider’ tool.
This update includes:
Staffing and Quality Measures ratings for October – December 2023
Residents’ Experience ratings for services that completed the annual survey in February 2024
Contemporary compliance ratings.
Find more information on Star Ratings resources.
You can also download the Star Ratings Improvement Manual for guidance on introducing changes to improve ratings.
Keep reporting all COVID-19 cases
We are here to help if your aged care home experiences a COVID-19 outbreak. But we need to know how many COVID-19 cases there are, so we know how much support you need.
You must continue to report all COVID-19 cases and deaths among residents, plus any cases among workers and visitors, on the My Aged Care service and support portal.
It’s important you report cases as they happen and then close the record at the end of the episode to keep information up to date.
Call the My Aged Care Provider and Assessor helpline on 1800 836 799 if you need help accessing the portal.
Reminder: Rules about charging and advertising room prices
You cannot charge more for a room than the maximum accommodation payment amount you have advertised. This includes on My Aged Care, your own website and any published materials.
To charge or advertise above $550,000 you need a valid approval. This can be from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) or the former Aged Care Pricing Commissioner. An approval is valid for 4 years. To keep charging over $550,000, you must re-apply at least 60 days before expiry.
If you have a ‘conditional approval’ you cannot charge or advertise a price above $550,000. To do this you must first get a ‘satisfaction of conditions’ letter from IHACPA.
Read more about the approval process and expiring approvals.
Check your room pricing information is correct on My Aged Care.
Antimicrobial stewardship: New self-assessment tool
To tackle antimicrobial resistance, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is on a mission to help providers implement antimicrobial stewardship programs.
Think of antimicrobial stewardship as a set of actions to make sure we use antimicrobials, including antibiotics, in the best way possible.
To support aged care providers and clinicians, the Commission created an antimicrobial stewardship self-assessment tool and user-guide.
The tool will help providers and clinicians in implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs. It will also help you review your existing programs and learn more about antimicrobial stewardship.
Read more about antimicrobial stewardship on the Commission website and access the antimicrobial stewardship self assessment tool and user-guide.
My Continence Care pilot opportunity
The Continence Foundation of Australia invites residential providers to participate in a 4 week pilot to test the My Continence Care program in real-life settings.
My Continence Care is a continence care model that puts the person's preferences first. It includes:
eLearning module: puts continence support into practice, builds staff confidence and optimises dignified continence care
Continence Convos: informal peer-to-peer conversations on continence care topics
Consumer Guide: provides information about getting the right continence care for older people and their carers.
Participation in the pilot is free. Providers will be asked to support their care workers to complete a 45–60 minute online module.
Contact the project team at Continence Foundation of Australia on (03) 8692 8400 to register your interest.
Visit continenceyourvoice.com.au/my-continence-care, or email mycontinencecare@continence.org.au for more information.
In-home care
Updated Home Care Package pricing reports now available
The National Summary of Home Care Package Prices – 31 March 2024 is now available.
The report outlines Home Care Packages (HCP) Program pricing data for common home care services, care management, package management and staff travel.
At 31 March 2024, the median nursing price was $120 per standard hour. Median prices for light gardening, in-home respite, personal care and cleaning/household tasks ranged from $71 to $75 per standard hour.
The HCP - Published Pricing Schedule – 31 March 2024 shows the full pricing data that providers entered into My Aged Care.
Workforce
Webinar: CHSP social support for multicultural older people
The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing (Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care Victoria) is hosting a free webinar for people working in the aged care sector.
The webinar will provide information on the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)’s social support activities and access for older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
When: Tuesday 28 May, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm (AEST)
This webinar is part of the interactive series Cultural Diversity in Ageing 2023-2024 and may assist providers to meet aged care quality standards. For nurses, it may be counted as continuing professional development for registration.
Register now.
You can watch recordings of previous webinars from this series.