Charter of Aged Care Rights
As an MPS provider, you are responsible to help your clients understand the Charter of Aged Care Rights.
You need to:
- give your clients a copy that you've signed
- help them to understand it
- make sure your clients, or their representatives, have an opportunity to sign the charter
What is a resident agreement?
A resident agreement is a legal agreement between a person receiving residential, residential respite or home care and your Multi-Purpose Service (MPS).
The resident agreement must be written in plain language and easy to understand.
It sets out the:
- care and services you will provide
- fees to be paid
- the person’s rights
What to include
It should state that a resident has a right to occupy a place in your MPS. Their right to a place begins on the day the agreement takes effect and continues until the end of either:
- the period set out in the agreement
- the resident’s life
The agreement should also include:
Details of people and services
Make sure you include:
- resident details
- your provider details
- the date you will start providing services
- the levels of care and services you will provide
Fees, charges and payments information
You should include:
- any fees the resident may be asked to pay
- a copy of your policies and practices used to set fees, charges and payments
- what happens if a resident doesn’t pay fees, charges or payments
Other details
Other details that should be included are:
- why you may ask the resident to leave and how you will help the resident find alternative accommodation if you ask them to leave
- how you deal with complaints
- any other matters agreed between you and the resident, within the requirements of the Aged Care Act 1997
When to provide a resident agreement
You should provide a resident agreement to a resident before or not long after they move in.
Reviewing and updating resident agreements
You must review and update the resident agreement if:
- their care needs change
- your costs change
- they ask you to
This should be part of your ongoing care discussions with the person.
You must provide a copy of the updated agreement to the resident as soon as possible after finalising it.
Full requirements
For legislated requirements on completing resident agreements see:
- Division 59 of the Aged Care Act 1997
- Division 4 of the User Rights Principles 2014