Announcements since the last newsletter:
- IPC lead training deadline approaching
- Improved Payment Arrangements Budget Measure
- Request for tender now open: expanded funding for Goods, Equipment and Assistive Technology for older Australians
- IPC lead training deadline
- Grant Opportunity - Disability Support for Older Australians Program - service coordinator
- Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety report released
The department has also distributed these 'Protecting Older Australians' and 'COVID-19 vaccine' updates:
- New information on obtaining and recording consent and preparing sites ahead of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out
- Protecting Older Australians: COVID-19 update - 19 February 2021
- OPAN webinar - COVID-19 Vaccine Informed Consent - Tuesday 23 February, 11:30am-12:30pm AEDT
- National review of COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian RACFs – revised dates – online workshop registrations now open
- Protecting Older Australians - COVID-19 vaccine update - 23 February 2021
- Protecting Older Australians - COVID-19 Update 26 February 2021
- National review of COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian RACFs – online survey now open
- Protecting Older Australians - COVID-19 Update 2 March 2021
Notifying My Aged Care when a person passes away
It’s important that you tell us when a client or representative has passed away. This will:
- close their aged care record
- stop unnecessary correspondence to their family and representatives
- minimise service delays for other aged care clients by improving the accuracy of home care, residential care and home support waitlists.
The easiest way to tell us when someone has passed away is by using the Notify My Aged Care of a Death function on a client’s record. You can report the death of a representative through a client’s record (Relationships section on the Client details page).
It is crucial that you identify the correct aged care record to prevent service disruptions to people who haven’t passed away. If you’re unable to identify the correct aged care record, please contact the My Aged Care Service Provider and Assessor helpline on 1800 836 799.
Survey results: aged care training needs to support consumers from culturally diverse backgrounds
The Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care (PICAC) Alliance helps aged care providers deliver culturally appropriate care to people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
Late last year, the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing, a member of the Alliance, conducted a nationwide survey to aged care providers about their training needs relating to inclusive practice.
The results from the survey are available on the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing website. 141 providers responded and offered insights around their training needs for staff, leadership, and suggested resources needed to work with consumers and carers from culturally diverse backgrounds.
The PICAC Alliance will also use the survey results to help inform their future resources and work. They will respond formally to the results of this survey through an online webinar in the coming months.
For more information about the results or to talk about your training needs, visit the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing website.
Reminder that Centrelink and aged care nominee arrangements are changing
Services Australia has been making nominee arrangements easier.
Centrelink correspondence nominees are now able to enquire, update and act for Centrelink payments, services, and aged care costs.
These changes may affect you if you:
- are a nominee for your care recipients/clients
- advise or assist your care recipients/clients with their nominee arrangements.
Some customers have already transitioned to the new arrangement. If not, they’ll automatically transition by 12 March 2021.
Customers will not transition if they:
- have an aged care nominee but not a Centrelink correspondence nominee
- are Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) income support recipients.
My Aged Care representatives are not affected.
Customers and their nominees affected by these changes will receive a letter. If they don’t receive a letter, they can still change to the new arrangement.
Customers can change their arrangement any time by completing the Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf form.
DVA income support customers can complete the Aged Care Request for a nominee for DVA customers.
My Aged Care clients can find more information on the My Aged Care website or contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.
Business Improvement Fund grants for residential aged care
Grant opportunities for the Business Improvement Fund for residential aged care close on 30 April 2021.
Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) recently hosted a webinar demonstrating how to access the Business Improvement Fund. You can watch the webinar, or view the presentation slides.
Providers can apply for one of the following streams of funding:
- Business Improvement - supporting a provider to go through a process of business improvement
- Sale of a Facility - supporting the sale of the residential aged care facility to another provider
- Closure of a Facility - where no other options exist, supporting the orderly and safe close down of a residential aged care facility.
The Business Improvement Fund is designed to support small to medium providers:
- with limited access to other financial support
- facing significant pressures which may impact on care or risk service closure.
For more information and to submit your application form:
- refer to Grant Opportunity GO3410 on the GrantConnect website or
- email queries to the Business Improvement Fund at bif@health.gov.au
Applications must be submitted via GrantConnect by 2:00pm AEST on 30 April 2021.