Your Aged Care Update # 01
Notable dates
Webinar: Draft new Aged Care Act - Q&A and panel discussion
18 January
Aged Care Wages – Historical Leave Liability Grant
Closes 31 January 2024
In this issue
News about the reforms
Draft new Aged Care Act consultation now open
The new Aged Care Act will put the rights and needs of older people at the centre of aged care. Public consultation is now open on the draft Act and we want to hear your views.
To get involved in the consultation, read one or more of these supporting materials:
We also encourage you to join us and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission at a Q&A panel discussion webinar this Thursday 18 January at 2:00 pm (AEDT).
You can then give us your feedback by:
attending a workshop near you
completing a survey online or over the phone by calling 1800 318 209
sending us an email or letter.
Read more about the new Aged Care Act consultation.
Public consultation closes on 16 February 2024.
Finance and operations information preview
From 22 January, aged care providers can preview their finance and operations information through the Government Provider Management System (GPMS).
From mid-February 2024, this information on residential and home care finance and operations will be published on My Aged Care through the ‘Find a Provider’ tool, including:
income, expenses and surplus or deficit positions
minimum, maximum and average hourly wage rates for registered nurses, enrolled nurses and personal care workers
food preparation
activities to support a diverse and inclusive environment
diversity of the provider’s governing body
feedback, complaints and improvements
information from the statement signed by the governing body about the provider’s compliance with its requirements under aged care legislation
service provision and use.
For assistance see finance and operations resources or email ProviderOperationsData@health.gov.au.
For technical issues, call the My Aged Care service provider and assessor helpline on 1800 836 799.
Feedback from Aged Care Regulatory Model consultation
We’ve published the A new model for regulating aged care: Consultation Summary Report which captures stakeholder feedback received during consultations on the new regulatory model.
Your participation and feedback during consultations over the last 18 months has been invaluable in helping us to test and revise the details of the model and prepare it for inclusion in the new Aged Care Act.
The new model will put into practice the rights based and person-centred foundations of the new Act. It has been designed to focus the sector on embracing continuous quality improvement to make sure older people can feel confident that the care they access is safe and high quality.
Read more about what we heard in the consultation feedback.
New Quality Indicators for home care in development
We are expanding the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) to include services providing care at home.
HealthConsult will work with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the University of Queensland. Together, they will design a pilot of quality indicators for services providing care at home. The work will start in 2024 and include extensive consultation.
This change will enable providers to capture and monitor the quality of care they give to older people living independently in their own homes.
We will give updates as this work starts. If you would like to know more, please email QPSec@health.gov.au.
Sector news
Refreshed membership for the National Aged Care Advisory Council
A refreshed membership has been announced for the National Aged Care Advisory Council.
The Council provides independent advice to government about the aged care reforms from the perspective of the aged care sector.
Nine new members have been appointed and 9 members return to Council, including Andrea Coote, who remains as Chair.
Members include people receiving aged care services, aged care workers, providers, health and allied health professionals, specialists in training and education, and independent experts.
Find out more about the National Aged Care Advisory Council.
A new term and membership was announced in December 2023 for the Aged Care Council of Elders, who provide a direct voice to government from older Australians. Find out more about the Council of Elders.
Information about volunteering in aged care is now easier to find
All the information you need about volunteering in aged care is now in one place.
We listened to responses from the 2023 Volunteers in Aged Care Survey and created resources to improve the consistency of volunteer training and support.
Topics include:
why engaging volunteers is so important to person-centred aged care
what volunteering in aged care involves
how to become an aged care volunteer
guidance for aged care providers and volunteer managers
training and resources for aged care volunteers.
The new webpage and resources are for aged care volunteers, managers and providers. Check out volunteering in aged care resources now.
You can also read more about what we heard in the Volunteering in Aged Care 2023 survey.
Support at Home program – seeking feedback from aged care assessors
We want to hear from aged care assessors who determine eligibility for Commonwealth aged care programs.
We want to hear about your experiences assessing for short-term services, and how you think short term services may best be incorporated into the new in-home aged care program, known as Support at Home.
From 1 July 2025, the new Support at Home program will replace the existing Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) will transition to Support at Home no earlier than 1 July 2027.
The new Support at Home program will include a short-term restorative pathway.
Complete the online survey now. It should take around 10 minutes.
Survey closes on Wednesday 31 January 2024.
Your feedback will help us refine the design of the new Support at Home program.
Residential care
Reminder: Quality Indicator reporting closing soon
Residential aged care providers are reminded that Quarter 2 Quality Indicator reporting is due by 11.59 pm, 21 January 2024.
Please use the new bulk submission template. When pasting data into the template use the Paste Values function to make sure the formatting is maintained.
Refer to our guidance materials for help:
GPMS and QI Program resources pages.
For assistance contact the My Aged Care helpline on 1800 836 799.
Trainer Mentor Program for kitchen teams applications closing soon
Want training for your kitchen staff that is tailored to your home’s specific needs?
Applications for the first round of the Maggie Beer Foundation’s Trainer Mentor Program will be closing soon.
The program pairs kitchen teams with a professional chef trainer. Over 12 months, you’ll get a customised program that includes:
a menu appraisal from an Accredited Practising Dietitian
five days of intensive in-home training and monthly check-ins
food satisfaction questionnaires and a report on the results.
This program will build your team’s capability to improve the food for your residents in preparation for the new Aged Care Quality Standards.
Best of all, it’s completely free.
Register on the Foundation’s website before 22 January 2024.
In-home care
Additional funding for CHSP ad hoc grant opportunity
An additional $15 million in funding is now available for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) ad hoc proposals extension grant opportunity (GO5672). This funding will support the large number of outstanding ad hoc grant applications for 2023-24.
The purpose of the ad hoc grant opportunity is to enable CHSP providers to:
respond to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances
address gaps in service delivery
trial and implement new and innovative service delivery models.
An addendum to GO5672 has been published on GrantConnect. Applications for the grant close 2:00 pm (AEDT) on 30 June 2024.
If CHSP providers are experiencing any service delivery or capacity issues, we encourage them to first raise these concerns with their Funding Arrangement Manager.
Expression of Interest: Support at Home online workshops
We want to hear from in-home aged care providers to help us refine the new Support at Home program.
We will be holding 8 online workshops from 12 –21 February 2024 that will run from 1pm to 2.30pm (AEDT). Each session will focus on a different aspect of the new program, such as care management, funding model and assistive technology.
Register your interest by 5pm (AEDT) Wednesday 31 January 2024 for the opportunity to participate in the online workshops.
We will send the workshop invites by Tuesday 6 February 2024. Please note, we may not be able to accommodate everyone who registers their interest.