Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022 passed by Parliament
The Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022 was passed by the Australian Parliament on 27 October 2022.
The Bill addresses 2 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and implements 3 of the Government’s 2022 election commitments:
- ensuring a registered nurse is on site and on duty in every residential aged care home, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- capping home care administration and management charges and banning exit fees
- ensuring greater transparency for residential aged care residents, their families and carers on how providers spend their funds.
Find more information about the aged care reforms and enabling legislation on the aged care legislative reform page on the department’s website.
Draft provider governance legislation released
As part of the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Act 2022, changes to provider governance and reporting requirements will commence from 1 December 2022.
These changes will apply to Australian Government-funded aged care providers of residential care, home care and flexible care.
To help providers prepare for these changes, the department has published the exposure draft and explanatory statement of the proposed Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Governance and Reporting for Approved Providers) Principles 2022.
Email comments on the draft legislation to ProviderGovernance@health.gov.au by 5pm AEDT on Sunday 13 November.
Find further information on the Stronger provider governance in aged care webpage on the department’s website.
Webinar: Strengthening provider governance – a regulatory perspective
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is hosting a webinar on strengthening provider governance at 3pm‑4pm AEDT on Monday 7 November.
This webinar will provide an overview of the new provider governance regulatory requirements introduced in the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Act.
The webinar will cover:
- reporting requirements for material changes
- assessment of suitability of key personnel
- reporting annually on provider operations
- the composition and skills of governing bodies
- establishing and continuing a quality advisory body
- the opportunity to establish one or more consumer advisory bodies.
The webinar will include a moderated Q&A session.
Register to attend the webinar.
The webinar will be recorded and be available for on-demand viewing on the Commission’s website.
Extending the Serious Incident Response Scheme to home care and flexible care providers
From 1 December 2022, the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) will extend beyond residential aged care to include providers of home and flexible aged care provided in home or community settings.
Providers must have an Incident Management System in place and inform the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission if a reportable incident occurs.
An exposure draft of the legislation and explanatory statement are now available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.
Comments on the draft instrument can be sent to sirs@health.gov.au by 5pm AEDT Sunday 13 November.
Register for the SIRS home care webinar this Thursday 3 November
Don’t miss the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s second webinar on the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) for home care and flexible care provided in home or community settings this Thursday 3 November at 3:30pm‑4:30pm AEDT.
Speakers from the Commission, Older Persons Advocacy Network and Uniting will discuss:
- the 8 SIRS reportable incident types for home services
- SIRS from the perspective of aged care recipients
- SIRS lessons learned by a provider of both residential aged care and home services.
The webinar will be recorded and questions for the panel Q&A session can be submitted before and during the webinar.
Register for the webinar or email agedcarereform@agedcarequality.gov.au for more details.
Aged care reform consultations now open
The department continues to consult widely on the aged care reforms. Below are some current and upcoming surveys and discussion papers you may be interested in:
- Survey: Restorative care (STRC) for in-home aged care – survey closes 14 November
- Discussion paper: A new program for in-home aged care – submissions due 25 November
- Survey and consultation papers: revised Aged Care Quality Standards – survey closes 25 November.
Find out more about these and other opportunities to get involved in the reforms, or read about what we’ve heard in recent consultation activities.
Find out more and get involved at the Aged Care Engagement Hub.
Webinar recording: Aged Care Quality Standards public consultation
Have your say on the draft Aged Care Quality Standards.
On 17 October the department held a webinar to launch public consultation on the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. The webinar provided an overview of the Quality Standards, proposed changes and how to have your say during the consultation.
You can view a recording of the webinar on the department’s website.
There is still time to register for online focus groups and complete the survey at the Aged Care Engagement Hub. Consultation closes on Friday 25 November.
Reminder: Publish your General Purpose Financial Statement by 30 November
To improve transparency in the aged care sector, approved residential care providers who are already required to prepare a General Purpose Financial Statement (GPFS), excluding state and territory government providers, must now publish their GPFS:
- on their website, or
- if the provider does not have a website, elsewhere online in a manner that is publicly accessible.
Providers have 5 months after the end of the financial year, or one month after the Aged Care Financial Report (ACFR) is due, to publish their GPFS. For the 2021-22 financial year, providers are reminded to publish their GPFS by Wednesday 30 November 2022.
For further information on GPFS publication, see the department’s website or Forms Administration’s webpage.
Registered Nurses' Payment grant round opens soon
Aged care providers can apply for the Aged Care Registered Nurses’ Payment on behalf of eligible staff.
The payment rewards clinical skills and leadership for Registered Nurses working for the same provider over an eligibility period.
The first non-competitive grant round is open for the eligibility periods of either:
- 1 November 2021 to 31 October 2022
- 1 May 2022 to 31 October 2022.
Up to $6,000 is available for full-time Registered Nurses. Payments are also available for eligible part-time and casual workers on a pro-rata basis. Employers must pass the full payment to staff within 8 weeks of receiving the payment.
The grant round closes on Wednesday 14 December 2022. Find out more on the GrantConnect website.