Hello, this presentation will describe the Quarterly Financial Reporting process for Residential Care Labour Costs and Hours.
In this video we will be providing an overview of the Quarterly Financial Report, or QFR which providers are able to complete using the Government Provider Management System. You will find advice on reporting labour costs and hours in the QFR, reporting anomalies and things to look out for during the QFR process. We will also highlight additional resources that may assist you in completing your QFR.
Firstly, a brief overview of the QFR. The QFR was introduced in 2022 in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. It is an important part of the prudential regulation and supervision of aged care providers and helps to ensure greater accountability and transparency across the sector.
It is used by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to track, monitor and benchmark the sector, and informs consumer choice and Star Ratings, helping older Australians and their representatives make decisions about their individual aged care needs. The data received from the QFR is used by the department and supports informed policy development, while also informing the Australian National Aged Care Classification pricing model.
Listed below are the Quarterly Financial Reporting dates for the financial year, which are the same each year. Approved providers have a legislated responsibility to submit their QFR by the due date for each quarter. Within GPMS, approved providers can login via the portal to access the QFR application.
Once logged in, the QFR can be accessed via the financial reporting tile. For staff to access the QFR, the provider Organisation Administrator will need to assign them a Financial Reporting user role. They will then be able to access and edit the QFR.
The data submitted in the QFR undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process undertaken by the department. This includes reasonableness checks of residential care labour costs and hours data. If the department requires any further information regarding your submission, you will be notified via email to review your data. Resubmissions must be made during the data validation period. Once completed, the submitted data is used to calculate the staffing Star Rating, which is subsequently published on My Aged Care following the provider review period.
This section will provide guidance on specific reporting requirements in the QFR. The QFR consists of the nine sections listed here. The residential care labour costs and hours section contains several categories which we will review in further detail. For specific guidance on allied health labour and expenses, please refer to our website.
Direct care hours refers to the total time spent by registered nurses (RNs), enrolled nurses (ENs) and personal care workers or assistants in nursing (PCWs/AINs) performing care related activities for aged care recipients. An approved residential aged care home’s care minutes are based on the total direct care hours provided, with each facility having their own care minute target. Direct care activities include all direct in-person assistance as well as care related tasks which are not face-to-face, such as writing care plans or organising referrals. Virtual telehealth arrangements do not contribute towards direct care costs.
From 1 October 2024, homes have the option of meeting up to 10% of their RN targets with care provided by ENs. However, EN hours should still be reported as normal under the EN category.
On the right is shown the calculation of direct care minutes. To calculate direct care minutes, take the total direct care hours divided by the total occupied bed days for a home, multiplied by 60 minutes.
The following is a walkthrough of the care minutes calculation. In this example, Gum Tree Aged Care has a 95% occupancy for its 40-bed approved residential aged care home. In step 1, .
we calculate the total RN hours, which is equal to the total Morning, Afternoon and Night shift hours, multiplied by the total days in the quarter. In our example, 48 daily RN hours multiplied by 92 days in the quarter equals 4,416 total RN hours.
In step 2, convert the total RN hours to minutes by multiplying by 60. in our example, the 4,416 RN hours equates to 264,960 RN minutes.
The final step is to divide the total RN minutes by the total Occupied Bed Days. This should correspond to the claims days reported to Services Australia for the same period. In our example this is 264,960 RN minutes divided by 3,496 total Occupied Bed Days, or 75.79 RN minutes per resident per day.
Care expenses are reported separately for employees and agency staff for the QFR. For employee expenses, ensure that the reported costs are correctly allocated across each category, such as RNs, ENs, and so on.
Wherever possible, expense information should come directly from the payroll system to ensure it is accurate. The costs reported should be inclusive of on-costs, such as superannuation and leave-provision. staff training, staff amenities, staff recruitment, agency staff, workers compensation premiums or payroll tax should not be included.
For agency staff, ensure that the tax invoice correctly indicates the service provided for each category. Separate ledger codes should be created to ensure invoices are captured correctly. As a quick check, ensure that costs recorded reconcile to hours worked in the roster and that timesheet data is recorded directly from invoices.
When recording labour hours in the QFR, only hours that are related to care for government-subsidised residents funded under the AN-ACC model should be included. Allied health hours and costs cannot be included or apportioned to RN, EN or PCW and AIN hours or costs. Labour hours must be categorised according to the categories shown in the example.
For rostered shifts, ensure they are categorised by morning, afternoon, or overnight. Wherever possible, hours should be reported directly from the roster or payroll system. Ensure reported direct care labour hours are worked hours rather than paid hours – meaning time spent on training or leave should not be included. Shift work refers to the work schedule performed in rotations by employees.
For the QFR, the system used to report shift hours should have clear job roles or classifications, with the reported hours reviewed against the roster. The roster and payroll system should be configured to accurately capture and report hours worked for each shift. Where staff are working across multiple shifts, it is important that these hours are appropriately apportioned. Where there is overlap in shift types, allocate hours to where the most time is spent.
Shift work delivered by agency RNs must be reported separately across shifts, as their hours will be totalled into total agency RN worked hours. To ensure this is completed correctly, ensure invoices for agency work correctly display all professional services by the RN. Invoices should be accompanied by supporting documents displaying start and finish times. The hours reported in the QFR should be checked for accuracy against the roster.
Certain payroll items, including non-work items such as uniform allowances, should not be counted towards reported hours. You should also make sure that overtime hours are not double-counted, and that non-work payroll items are not included. The example shown on the right has only 50 worked hours, inclusive of overtime reported in the QFR. Take care not to double-count the additional allowance paid for overtime in addition to the hours worked. Similarly, the uniform allowance should not be added to the total hours worked
A hybrid role is where staff are performing a combination of care activities along with non-care activities, such as catering, laundry or cleaning. For the QFR, hours and expenditure should be apportioned based on the rostered time allocated to each role and reported separately. Care hours reported must reflect actual activities and worked hours providing direct care rather than duty statements. To count a worker’s time as a PCW or AIN, they must be employed as such under the relevant award or equivalent role under an enterprise agreement. Activities which are administrative or not related to the direct care of individual residents, such as staff rostering, recruitment, and approved residential aged care home-level planning and reporting, are not eligible for care minutes. As shown in the example, a care manager at Bluegum Tree Aged Care is also a RN. Since they work 25% of the time as an RN, 25% of their time is recorded as RN hours. This equates to 10 hours of a 40-hour week, with the remaining 30 hours recorded as care management.
The number of total occupied beds should reflect the total number of days of subsidised care delivered in the period, not the number of beds. Only care days for government subsidised residential aged care residents funded under AN-ACC should be included. Days provided to private residents or residents funded via other programs such as the Transition Care Programme should not be included. Occupied bed days includes days where residents are on leave, such as social leave, however extended periods of more than 29 days should be capped to the first 28 days.
When reporting occupied bed days, ensure that they are consistent with the Services Australia Medicare Statement. Ensure that offline beds are excluded from reported bed days.
Accruals are an important part of the QFR. They ensure that revenue and expenses are matched to the period they are incurred, even though pay cycles or payment dates may occur in another quarter. The QFR labour costs and hours and Star Ratings are calculated on a quarterly basis and not Year to Date, so a correct apportioning of the costs and hours in each quarter is critical. Please note, the cumulative totals derived from the 4 quarters of QFR lodgement are not expected to reconcile with the annual submissions of the Aged Care Financial Report for the Residential Labour Cost and Hours section.
Keep in mind that the QFR submission treats accrued hours and expenditure correctly. Incomplete or misleading data may affect the calculation of a service’s Staffing Rating and overall Star Rating.
Accruals should address labour hours and expenses for the current reporting period only. Invoices should be allocated upon receipt to their relevant quarter based on when services are delivered, not when they are paid.
Care hours should be reported from the start to the end of the quarter based on calendar days, rather than pay cycles. Expenditure reported aligns with the hours worked in the quarter. Adjustments to revenue and expenses should only be included in the QFR where they relate to the current reported quarter, rather than to reconcile with the prior quarter.
Shown on the right is a brief example of accrued expenditure for pay cycles. Since the pay cycle straddles two separate quarters, Karri Tree Aged Care must ensure the 12 days in the current quarter are included, not the full pay cycle which includes days from the next quarter. To do this, take the full pay amount divided by the days in the pay cycle, multiplied by the number of remaining days in the quarter. In this example, we have only 12 days of the $3,000 fortnightly pay included, or $2,571 dollars.
This section outlines some reporting anomalies to be aware of along with some useful reminders when submitting the QFR.
As a quick check of your QFR submission, please be aware of the following, which may indicate an error in your data.
- Firstly, the reported direct care expenditure is disproportionately high when compared with AN-ACC funding received
- Care revenue per resident per day which is disproportionately high or low compared with care minutes delivered. For example, high revenue per resident per day would be expected to translate to high care minutes
- Average hourly costs for specific categories which are significantly higher or lower than similar providers
- Agency hours and costs being reported when invoices received rather than in the period that they occurred
- Where direct care staff work across several approved residential aged care homes, the costs and hours have not been apportioned based on the time they are allocated to each home.
- Reported occupied bed days that are significantly different to claims submitted to Services Australia
- Significant changes in care minutes compared with past submissions
- Non-direct care time incorrectly allocated to RN minutes
- Finally, non-worked hours such as leave, and training captured as worked hours
This section has some common reporting reminders to assist with your quarterly reporting.
- Ensure the data reported is correct – only report time and costs spent on residents funded under the Aged Care Act.
- Ensure that the correct period is reported, meaning data reported should include hours and expenditure for the reporting quarter only.
- Compare average funding to care minutes.
- Include correct expense types.
- Labour hours should not include non-worked hours such as sick and annual leave, training or voluntary hours.
- The Quarterly Financial Statements tab of the QFR needs to be reported on a year-to-date basis and the residential, home care and food & nutrition tabs need to be reported on a quarterly basis.
- Ensure that all invoices are aligned with reporting requirements.
- Ensure that the email address included in each QFR submission is current and applicable.
- Lastly, ensure there is a record of the information on which you based your submission.
This section outlines available resources to assist in submitting the QFR. To assist in your QFR submissions, additional resources about the QFR, care minutes and 24/7 RN responsibility and GPMS are available on the department’s website.
For further assistance, please contact the QFR and ACFR Helpdesk via the email address on your screen.