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Commonwealth HACC Program

Fact sheet - Minimising administrative burden for service providers

This fact sheet outlines the approach the Department has taken to assist in minimising the administrative burden for Commonwealth HACC service providers.

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The Department of Health and Ageing has applied the principle of minimal increase in regulatory burden to the greatest extent possible in developing the framework for administering the Commonwealth HACC Program, while also ensuring compliance with standard Commonwealth requirements.

The Department has compared the requirements of HACC service providers under existing funding arrangements with state/territory governments with the Department’s own requirements. In instances where the Department’s standard requirements would result in an increase in administrative burden for service providers, the Department has adopted an alternative approach to minimise the increase in administrative burden.

The following arrangements have been put in place to minimise or where possible avoid an increase in administrative burden for Commonwealth HACC service providers from 1 July 2012:

Single Head Agreement

Service providers will have one funding agreement with standard terms and conditions for all aged care programs for which they receive Commonwealth funding. Previously, service providers may have had multiple agreements with the Department of Health and Ageing.

Insurances

Service providers are required to have certain insurances but the level and amount of insurance is not prescribed, other than for public liability, which will require a minimum level of $10 million on a per claim basis. In addition, service providers are not generally required to provide copies of the insurance policies (certificates of currency) they hold.

Asset management

Under the Commonwealth HACC Program, service providers are able to purchase some assets with Commonwealth funding, specifically vehicles and office equipment, and dispose of these assets without the administrative burden of gaining written approval first. This gives service providers greater flexibility in planning for assets, like vehicles, which are fundamental to service delivery.

Bank accounts

The Department generally requires funding recipients to have a separate bank account for funding they receive from the Commonwealth. Under the Commonwealth HACC Program, service providers are not required to have a separate bank account as long as they are able to track and report on the funding (including interest) they receive. This is beneficial for service providers who receive funding from both the Commonwealth and a state/territory government for delivering HACC services.

Financial Accountability and Performance Reporting

The frequency of submission of Financial Accountability Reports (FARs) has been designed to reduce the reporting burden, particularly for smaller service provides, wherever possible. Service providers receiving less than $100,000 (GST exclusive) in Commonwealth HACC funding in one schedule will generally be required to provide FARs and Output Variation Reports (OVRs) on an annual basis (rather than 6 monthly). These providers also have reduced auditing requirements.

Audit Requirements

The Department generally requires funded organisations to submit an audited statement of expenditure against each activity for which they receive funding. Commonwealth HACC service providers may instead choose to provide a segment from their audited general purpose financial statements, or an audited extract from their financial management system detailing all funding and expenditure for Commonwealth HACC activities.

Service providers who receive less than $100,000 (GST exclusive) in Commonwealth HACC funding in one schedule are required to submit a Certificate of Compliance. This should be signed by a person with the relevant authority in their organisation, generally a Chief Executive Officer, or a Chief Financial Officer will be acceptable instead. Additionally, these service providers are required to report annually, rather than biannually.

Activity reporting

Commonwealth HACC service providers need to report quarterly into the HACC Minimum Data Set (MDS). Wherever possible, the Department will use the MDS data to track actual service delivery against funded service delivery.

Output Variation Reports (OVRs), pre-populated with HACC MDS data, will be used to track service delivery levels. Service providers need to insert short explanations where actual outputs vary from those required under their funding agreement. As with financial accountability reporting, the Department has sought to minimise administrative burden for service providers who receive less than $100,000 (GST exclusive) in Commonwealth funding for Commonwealth HACC services by requiring that OVRs be submitted on an annual basis, rather than biannually.

Additionally, service providers who deliver services only in service group six (meals) have an option of submitting a modified MDS report only requiring seven key pieces of information to be reported. They also have the option of submitting MDS reports twice annually, a reduction from quarterly arrangements.

Sub-contracting

The Department of Health and Ageing generally requires written consent to be obtained before a provider enters into a subcontracting arrangement. However, the Department understands that subcontracting is common in HACC and it is therefore important to reduce the administrative burden for service providers who rely on subcontractors to help them deliver services to their clients. Commonwealth HACC service providers who plan to use a primary subcontractor will only be required to notify the Department before entering into an agreement. If a primary subcontractor then wants to subcontract further to a secondary subcontractor the service provider will then be required to obtain written consent from the Department.

Consent is automatic for primary and secondary subcontracting arrangements entered into prior 1 July 2012. Service providers will simply need to notify the Department of any subcontractors in this category by 30 September 2012.

Flexibility

Funding arrangements under the Commonwealth HACC Program will be flexible and support service providers to respond appropriately to clients’ needs. Flexibility provisions have been put in place to allow Commonwealth HACC service providers to vary outputs within a region without always having to vary their funding agreement with the Department.

Please note, flexibility provisions are subject to conditions, which are outlined in the ‘Service Groups and Flexible Service Delivery’ fact sheet.

More information

For more information, please review the Commonwealth HACC Program Manual or contact the HACC service provider help desk on phone 1800 057 616 or email HACC Reform.

Last updated: June 2012
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