Aged Care Funding Instrument
ACFI Monitoring Group Meeting 5 Outcomes
The fifth meeting of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) Monitoring Group was held on Friday 8 February 2013 in Canberra.
The Monitoring Group reviewed ACFI data from July to November 2012. It showed that average ACFI subsidies in November 2012 ($135.33) were 0.3% above the average subsidies in October 2012 ($134.94) and 1.02% above June 2012 ($133.96). Average subsidies for July to November 2012 ($134.86) were 4.79% above the same period last year ($128.70).
As this data builds, the Monitoring Group will track expenditure against target levels in the Commonwealth Budget forward estimates. The 2012-13 Budget of $9.1 billion is $382 million* more than the 2011-12 Budget. Under these reforms, average care subsidies are projected to grow by 2.7% per annum (above indexation) between 2012-13 and 2016-17.
The Monitoring Group noted the upward trend in the growth of average ACFI subsidies with the inclusion of October and November 2012 data. It further noted that the monthly pattern of appraisals was slowly returning to historical trend levels (see table below).
 | Jun 2012 | Jul 2012 | Aug 2012 | Sep 2012 | Oct 2012 | Nov 2012 | Average of July 2011 to May 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Admit | 4,932 | 5,577 | 5,982 | 5,697 | 5,625 | 4,745 | 5,076 |
| Reappraisals | 10,253 | 5,484 | 6,103 | 6,003 | 6,703 | 7,326 | 7,305 |
| Total New Appraisals | 15,185 | 11,061 | 12,085 | 11,700 | 12,328 | 12,071 | 12,382 |
The Monitoring Group made a number of observations:
- average subsidies in November ($135.33) were in line with October ($134.94) and above June ($133.96);
- there continues to be strong growth in ACFI expenditure compared with the same period in 2011 - average subsidy per resident in July to November 2011 was $128.70 per day compared with $134.86 per day in July to November 2012 - a 4.79% increase;
- the average daily subsidy per resident for July to November was approximately $2.38 below what it would have been if the 1 July 2012 changes had not been introduced;
- approximately $2.16 of this result came from the 1.6% price reduction, which when taken with indexation that occurred on the same day, meant that all ACFI subsidy rates were unchanged on 1 July 2012;
- approximately $0.08 of this result came from the changes to the Activities of Daily Living domain which had impacted 0.18% of resident days;
- approximately $0.14 of this result came from the change to the Complex Health Care domain which had impacted 0.52% of resident days; and
- approximately 0.01% of resident days were affected by both reclassification measures to the Activities of Daily Living domain and the Complex Health Care domain.
Members fully endorsed three of the proposals for submission to the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP. Members referred one proposal back to the ACFI Technical Reference Group for further consideration and did not endorse one proposal.
* Updated following the release of the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements tabled on 7 February 2013.
# For the purposes of the Monitoring Group, the average daily subsidy per resident is calculated based on ACFI appraisal data and includes the Conditional Adjustment Payment. It does not take account of Resident Classification Scale saved rates or other non-typical rates.
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