CHSP funding extension 2020–2022
Funding for the CHSP will be extended from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2022 for CHSP service providers in all states and territories.
This was announced on 2 May as part of the 2019 Australian Government Budget package.
Current CHSP grant agreements (including Sector Support and Development funding) remain in place until 30 June 2020.
The department will advise CHSP service providers about the process for implementing the 2020–2022 funding extension in coming months. CHSP providers will be kept informed through email updates, webinars and via direct contact from Funding Arrangement Managers (FAMs).
Victorian CHSP extension 2019–2020
Funding agreements in Victoria are being extended for 12 months from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 to align Victoria with national arrangements.
Agreements are being offered to existing Victorian CHSP service providers from May 2019.
Details can be found in the update that was sent Friday 24 May 2019.
CHSP innovation funding
In December 2018, the department sought proposals for trials or innovative approaches for the delivery of CHSP services from existing CHSP providers as well as new organisations.
The department received a total of 599 expressions of interest. From these, a shortlist is being finalised.
Shortlisted applicants will be notified in July 2019, after which time they will be invited to apply for innovation grant funding.
3 things you should be doing on the My Aged Care provider portal
1. Record deceased clients
As soon as a provider becomes aware that a client has passed away, a record must be made in the My Aged Care provider portal.
Ceasing a client's service with the reason of 'Client Deceased' will change the client's status to 'Deceased' and make the client record READ ONLY. Any unaccepted service referrals will be recalled and the client's access to the client portal will be revoked.
Changing the client's status in this way will also remove the client from the home care package national priority system (the queue) and withdraw any assigned home care packages. This is extremely important to prevent distress for grieving family members caused by correspondence received regarding deceased loved ones. This has been a particular focus of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Instructions on how to discontinue a deceased client's service in My Aged Care are available in the Quick Reference Guide – Recording and updating client service delivery information using the My Aged Care provider portal
2. Only accept a new referral for service if you are ready to provide it
New referrals for service should only be 'accepted' by providers if your organisation has capacity to provide the service. You need to review the referral and client information and be in a position to provide services to the client prior to accepting the referral.
The only expectation to this rule is where your organisation is the only provider of a particular service in a regional or remote area.
3. Register pre-CHSP (grandfathered) clients
Service providers are required to assist the department to collect data on CHSP clients not registered on My Aged Care.
If the needs of a client who is not registered on My Aged Care increase, the client must be referred to My Aged Care for an assessment before any additional services can be provided.
Reablement–focused assessment trial commences
'Active assessments' of CHSP clients are being trialled by five Regional Assessment Service (RAS) organisations. This model of assessment focuses on reablement.
Active assessments use a 'show me' approach to observe how clients undertake activities of daily living. The assessor also works with clients to find ways to make tasks simpler.
Most clients will complete a reablement period of 6–8 weeks before referrals are made for ongoing CHSP services.
Reablement resources and training will be made available to CHSP providers, clients and their families during the trial period.
An evaluation over the trial period will assess the effectiveness of the assessment model. The trial will run until June 2020.
Wellness and reablement report
In late 2018 the department received a total of 1,025 wellness and reablement reports (responses to the online survey) from CHSP service providers in all states and territories except Victoria (given Victorian providers are yet to transition to the new CHSP grant agreement regarding this requirement).
The initial report gives a snapshot of how providers have implemented wellness and reablement approaches in their service delivery and what supports they may need in the future.
Initial results are encouraging, with around 79% of providers believing they have already embedded wellness practices in their CHSP service delivery. Over half the providers feel they would benefit from additional support.
Some of the common challenges reported by service providers include:
- a lack of understanding of wellness and reablement by clients, carers and families
- clients' dependency on services and reluctance to adjust to a wellness and reablement approach.
The most common service types reported as not aligning with a wellness and reablement approach are: transport, home maintenance and meals.
A summary report of providers' responses will be made available shortly on the Department of Health website.
Information and requirements for the next report due in October 2019 are being considered and will be advised as soon as possible.
New Charter of Aged Care Rights
A new easy–to–read Charter of Aged Care Rights will take effect from 1 July 2019. The new charter provides the same rights to all aged care recipients across all forms of Australian Government–subsidised aged care.
From 1 July 2019, providers must give clients a copy of the new Charter signed by the provider, and ensure that the client or their authorised person has been given a reasonable opportunity to sign. The purpose of requesting the client's signature is to allow them to acknowledge they have received the charter and were helped to understand it.
Clients should be given a signed charter by each CHSP provider they receive services from. This means that if a client has three CHSP providers, they should receive three separate charters to sign.
Providers will need to retain a copy of the signed charter for their records.
Clients are not required to sign the charter; they can start or continue to receive care and services even if they choose not to sign.
Information for CHSP providers on making signed charter copies available to all existing clients will be available shortly.
General information about the charter is available on the Department of Health website.
A webinar will be held on 6 June 2019 to discuss aged care quality reform topics, including the new Charter of Aged Care Rights.
Extra funding for home mods and goods, equipment and assistive technology can be carried over to 2019–2020
$15 million in additional funding to CHSP providers of home modifications was announced in January 2019. This funding is due to be paid to providers shortly and can be carried over to 2019–20.
Additional funding is also coming to CHSP providers of goods, equipment and assistive technology participating in the reablement trial. This funding is due to be paid to providers shortly and can be carried over to 2019–20.
All other CHSP unspent funds from 2018–19 will be recovered. This will take place after the acquittals.
Stick to what's in the client's support plan (don't over-service)
CHSP providers should avoid 'over-servicing' clients, particularly for home maintenance (garden jobs and minor/major home repairs).
CHSP home maintenance services should be carried out for client safety reasons, not for the general appearance of the property.
Providers must adhere to the guidance set out in the client support plan (as written by the Regional Assessment Service assessor) which should state the reason for the referral and give some indication of the parameters of the job.
If the support plan doesn't provide parameters or uses general language (e.g. 'as required') then providers should apply the core principle of carrying out safety–related work only.
Managing the performance of sub–contractors
The department would like to remind CHSP providers that under your grant agreement you are responsible for the performance of your sub–contractors.
CHSP providers should be aware of sub-contractor non-compliance issues and take appropriate action. Where there is non-compliance by a sub–contractor, the department recommends you implement appropriate risk mitigation strategies to manage any issues.
Next Data Exchange (DEX) reporting deadline
The next DEX reporting deadline for CHSP providers is 30 July 2019.
SUPPORT AND INFORMATION
- For help with reporting CHSP services in the Data Exchange contact your Funding Arrangement Manager (FAM).
- For technical assistance with the Data Exchange contact dssdataexchange.helpdesk@dss.gov.au or phone 1800 020 283 8:30 am — 5:30 pm (AEST) Monday to Friday.
- For general information, visit the Data Exchange website.
- You can also subscribe to the Data Exchange mailing list to receive general updates and system notifications.
Edits to CHSP Manual
Please be aware of the following edits to the CHSP Manual:
- Section 4.1.1 (page 71) — addition of a fourth circumstance in which a home care package client can access services under the CHSP.
- Appendix C Contacts (page 103) — updating of state/territory office email addresses for CHSP Funding Arrangement Managers (previously known as Grant Agreement Managers) in the Community Grants Hub (Department of Social Services)
- All references to the Aged Care Complaints Commissioner and the Aged Care Quality Agency have been changed to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
More information
The department encourages all staff working within CHSP service provider organisations to subscribe to receive these notices. This is a great way to stay up to date with what is happening in the CHSP and aged care more broadly.
Notifications are also published on the announcements page of the department's website.