The new Code of Conduct for Aged Care starts 1 December
The Code of Conduct for Aged Care commences on Thursday 1 December.
The code sets out standards of behaviour for approved providers, their aged care workers and governing persons, helping to build confidence in the safety and quality of care for older Australians.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will monitor and enforce compliance with the code and has new powers to take enforcement action such as banning or restricting individuals from working in aged care.
Find support resources, including guidance materials for providers and workers, on the Commission’s website.
View the final legislation on the Federal Register of Legislation and find more information on our Code of Conduct for Aged Care webpage.
Star Ratings provider manual now available
The Star Ratings provider manual is now available on our website. The manual includes detailed information about Star Ratings, including calculations and reporting requirements for the overall Star Rating and four sub-categories.
More than 900 residential aged care providers attended the Star Ratings webinar on 18 November.
A recording of the webinar will soon be available on our website for providers who were unable to attend.
Preparing for the Serious Incident Response Scheme: My Aged Care Service and Support portal
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 use the My Aged Care Service and Support portal to notify the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission if a reportable incident occurs. The SIRS Notice form will appear in the portal on 1 December 2022 for providers that deliver care in home or community settings.
For information about accessing or using the portal, see the Service and Support Portal resources on our website.
Provider guidance material on SIRS is available on the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website.
Aged care reform webinar series available for viewing
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s aged care reform webinar series is available for viewing.
The webinars will help providers prepare for the regulatory requirements starting on 1 December 2022. Topics covered include:
- the expansion of the Serious Incident Response Scheme to home services
- Code of Conduct for Aged Care (for providers and workers)
- strengthening provider governance.
Each webinar includes a Q&A session with panel members from the Commission, the department and across the aged care sector.
Providers are also encouraged to review the Commission’s reform guidance documents, which explain the regulatory requirements and outline best practice.
The webinar series and guidance documents can be viewed on the Commission’s reform website.
Strengthening provider governance: new notification form for approved providers
From 1 December 2022, approved providers will be required to use a new notification form when meeting their notification responsibilities under sections 9-1 and 9-2A of the Aged Care Act 1997.
These responsibilities include:
- An obligation to notify of changes that materially affect its suitability to be a provider of aged care.
- An obligation to notify of the occurrence of certain events relating to key personnel of an approved provider.
For changes occurring before 1 December 2022, providers will be required to notify the Commission within 28 days. From 1 December 2022 providers must notify within 14 days.
More information about these changes will be available on the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s website.
Webinar: Translating and interpreting services for aged care providers
The Australian Government wants to make it easier for older Australians to access aged care information and the services they need in their chosen language – and easier for you to communicate with them.
We are presenting a webinar on translating and interpreting services for aged care providers at 10am–11am AEDT on Tuesday 29 November.
In this webinar, you will learn how you and your staff can access these free services.
You will also learn about the services available to improve the aged care experience for:
- people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- First Nation Elders
- people who are Deaf, deafblind, blind or hard of hearing.
Register for the translating and interpreting services for aged care providers webinar.
Services Australia webinar: Residential aged care funding reform
Join the Services Australia webinar at 10am–11am AEDT on Wednesday 30 November to learn about the Aged Care Payment System features and changes supporting the new Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) funding model.
The webinar will focus on:
- system features and changes
- claims processing information
- reconciliation of bank statements against payment statements
- NAPS ID information
- educational resources available
- payment statements.
Educational resources for residential aged care providers are available on the Health Professionals Education Resources Gateway. Find information about AN-ACC on our website.
Webinar: Upcoming Home Care Packages pricing changes
We are hosting a webinar for Home Care Package (HCP) providers at 1pm-2pm AEDT on Thursday 1 December to give an overview of upcoming pricing changes.
From 1 January 2023, care and package management charges will be capped at 20% and 15% of the package level respectively. In addition, exit fees and separate subcontracting charges will no longer be charged.
Webinar attendees can submit questions during the webinar. This webinar will be recorded and made available on our website following the event.
Register for the Capping Home Care Package admin and management charges webinar.
Home Care Packages pricing update for January 2023
The Australian Government is capping administration and management charges in the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program. This will ensure more funds are available to meet the needs of care recipients and make it easier to compare prices.
From 1 January 2023:
- care management prices will be capped at 20% of the package level
- package management prices will be capped at 15% of the package level
- providers cannot charge for package management in a calendar month where no services (other than care management) are delivered
- providers cannot charge separately for third party services (e.g. brokering or sub-contracting charges)
- providers cannot charge exit amounts.
Learn more about these changes and how providers can prepare on the our website.