[The visuals during this webinar are of each speaker presenting in turn via video, with reference to the content of a PowerPoint presentation being played on screen]
Cathy Milfull:
Hi everyone. Thanks for joining us for this next webinar in our MPSP reform series. As most of you know my name is Cathy Milfull. I’m currently Acting Assistant Secretary of the Thin Markets Branch which is responsible for the MPS Program. So I’m hosting today’s webinar as normal. It’s great to see you again. But the good news today is it’s extra exciting as we’ve got some special guests with us who you can see on screen at the moment. So we’ve got Paul Heinemann who’s Executive Director of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and Aimee Chambers who you might know has also joined us, who’s Assistant Secretary of our Navigation and Access Branch.
So today’s sequence of events is we’re going to do as normal a bit of a formal presentation starting with myself, then Paul, then Aimee, and then rounding back up to me. And then lastly we will do as usual a bit of a Q&A session at the end so that we can answer any questions that you might have or if you want us to expand on anything. Just want to flag the presentation probably is a little bit longer than normal today but we’ll still try and make sure we get time for questions. If we run out of time we can always provide you with those answers out of session as well. So just in terms of questions I believe the chat is working, the Q&A is working. Whatever works for you please use it. And that’s really it for the housekeeping for today.
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Multi-Purpose Service Program (MPSP)’, ‘Webinar 8’, ‘Aged care reforms:’, ‘Impacts on the MPSP & providers’, ’29 April 2025’, ‘Thin Markets Branch’, ‘Australian Government with Crest (logo)’, ‘Department of Health and Aged Care’, ‘www.health.gov.au’]
My team’s going to bring up the slides now so we can get started. But before we do I just also wanted to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we are meeting today all across Australia where we live, learn and work. I’d like to pay my respects to Elders past and present and recognise their resilience and strength and their rich contribution to society. I’d also like to extend a special respect to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples here with us today.
All right. So we’ll move on to the formal presentation. To start off with the first slide just outlines what we’re going to cover today. As you can see I’ll provide some quick updates first as normal and then going to pass on to our guest speakers, first Paul for a presentation about the regulation of the program under the Act, and then Aimee will take over to talk specifically about supported decision making under the new Act. We’ll then round up with a bit of a discussion from me on Tranche 4b of the Rules for the new Act which was released for consultation recently. And as mentioned we’ll then finish with a Q&A session.
I did just want to flag that obviously we are in caretaker mode at the moment but that hasn’t necessarily changed the content of today’s webinar. We’ll be able to proceed as normal. There might just be some information that we can’t provide. If that is the case I will let you know but otherwise we’ll just continue as normal.
All right. This next slide as normal just gives you a bit of an insight into the way forward and our future topics. So just flagging that the May webinar we’re really hoping to have a bit of a focus on the new MPSP funding model and we’re still hoping to get IHACPA along as guests so that we can talk about that in a bit more detail. And then the June webinar really is going to focus on the new Act noting the commencement date of 1 July to ensure that we’re all as ready as we can be for implementation. But as usual if you have suggestions for other topics please let me or the team know.
All right. So moving on to the first major topic today. Look I won’t talk much about this today but just wanted to keep consistency and provide you with a copy of our schedule of MPS reforms just so you can see where we’re up to in terms of reforms and what the developments are. So there’s no real changes this month but obviously we’re getting closer to that 1 July 2025 date where there will be quite significant change. So we’ll talk more about that today.
Next up we just wanted to give you a quick update on where we’re at with the trials that are underway in the program. Firstly just in terms of the 24/7 trial, we’ve obviously just finished our first reporting month for phase two. So big thanks to everyone who’s been participating. And the good news there is for those who did provide a completed report we’ve actually had a 92% compliance result. So that’s very positive I think for that first month where all sites are participating. But I would ask that everyone do make sure they get their reports in for the second reporting period. I understand the May reporting period has been distributed via your regional contact or directly to the relevant non-state or territory provider. But any issues there please feel free to contact my team.
Secondly on this slide, I won’t go into this in detail today, but obviously the direct care target trial for MPS is also continuing. And the main development in that space is that we will be piloting ANACC assessments in certain MPS sites and that will commence in May. So that’s quite exciting. I’ve listed here just the sites that have agreed to participate. Thanks everyone. And we’ll no doubt come back to you on a further webinar to let you know the outcomes of that pilot.
All right. Some more just quick updates on where we’re at in terms of new Aged Care Act preparations. So a couple of things here. Firstly the final set of draft Rules was released for consultation as I mentioned and I’ll be talking about those towards the end of this webinar. But just a reminder of a couple of things while we’re talking on the Act. So we are continuing to progress our transitional arrangements. So just a couple of reminders here is that the client deeming data workbooks that you’ve been completing, the first deadline for submission is that 30th of April, so tomorrow. So really appreciate everyone who’s been doing that work and I know we’ve already received some workbooks but please keep them coming in as soon as you can.
Also just confirming that the provider registration preview that we’ve talked about previously did commence as planned on 1 April. I did just want to flag though my colleagues have advised that invitations for you to participate in the preview are being staggered. So they’re coming out in stages. So if you haven’t got an invitation please don’t be concerned. It’s probably still coming to you. But if you do have any questions the team have given you an email address there that you can use if you need to.
Other key updates are that our new MPS Agreements continue to be progressed and we’ll talk a bit more about that in a second but basically the Tripartite Agreements will be out for signature this week is the intention. The team are also progressing the MPSP Policy Manual for 1 July that we’ve talked about. We’ve got a first round of feedback from states and territory jurisdictions so we’ll do a second version for May consultation. We’re also finalising client and provider fact sheets and web page updates for 1 July so you’ll also have some quick and easy reference guides to use from 1 July. And lastly just flagging that there are still quite a lot of system changes for 1 July being finalised, the details locked in, but we will report back. And I suspect this might be the June webinar just really focused for you on how all that’s going to work in terms of ensuring clients are supported, there’s referrals made to relevant MPS sites, how transitional arrangements are reflected in the system, and we’re particularly keen to make sure that there’s some clear processes in place where post 1 July an older person moves from perhaps an MPS into a mainstream provider arrangement. We just want to make sure that’s as smooth as possible.
All right. So last update slide from me was just on our MPSP Agreements. As I mentioned we’re aiming to get the Tripartite ones out this week and the bilateral agreements – so that’s WA and Northern Territory in particular – will follow as soon as possible. So I did just want to flag we are a touch behind schedule but we are confident that with everyone’s assistance we can still finalise all the new Agreements ready for 1 July with the aim of facilitating the first MPSP subsidy payments under the new Act on or about the 15th of July. So really appreciate everyone’s efforts to get back the signed agreements by the 16th of June.
All right. I think that’s it from me for now. So I’m going to hand over to Paul to begin his presentation. Thanks everyone.
Paul Heinemann:
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Regulation of providers delivering services under the MPSP under the new Act’, ‘Paul Heinemann, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’, ‘Australian Government with Crest (logo)’, ‘Department of Health and Aged Care’, ‘www.health.gov.au’]
Thank you Cathy. I’d like to say it’s a genuine pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you all today. I’d like to start by saying that my experience working with aged care providers has been a positive one, with the majority of providers very committed to doing the right thing and particularly once they understand the value proposition of the obligation they are struggling to better understand.
Now just for context my division plays a significant role in overseeing compliance for all aged care providers including MPS providers. That’s because the Regulatory Operations Division is responsible for making decisions about which providers get registered as well as undertaking auditing, risk based monitoring and case management activities that will ultimately feed into provider registration and re-registration decisions. And in general our approach to registering and renewing MPS providers will be the same as our approach to any residential aged care provider whether they’re delivering funded aged care services under a specialist or mainstream program.
Now all providers delivering residential aged care services including providers delivering services under the MPS Program will need to be registered by the Commission into the residential care category which is also known as category 6. To deliver home and community services providers will need to be registered in one or more of categories 1 to 5 depending on the services types they intend to deliver. All existing approved providers that deliver services under the MPS Program will be deemed to be registered in category 6 as well as any other relevant home and community services categories from the 1st of July 2025 and will not need to go through a registration or renewal process until this initial registration period expires.
Now any new providers or those seeking renewal of the registration will need to meet the registration requirements under the new Act which includes tests of a provider’s suitability, commitment, capability and capacity. Residential care providers also need to meet certain requirements relating to their approved residential care homes and this is also in line with audit requirements which will be discussed over the next few slides. When we register a provider they become subject to the conditions of registration and other obligations in the new Act as well as any other conditions which the Commission might impose on their registration in order to manage particular risks.
The Commission has published our updated provider registration policy earlier this year and this is available on the Commission's website. We’ve also posted a link to the policy in the chat and we strongly encourage providers to read and familiarise themselves with this policy before the 1st of July so that they can be prepared before the Act commences.
Now in terms of the approval of residential care homes and in order to be eligible for Commonwealth funding all residential aged care must be delivered through residential care homes approved by the Commission. And like how an approved provider will be deemed to be registered all current MPS services will be deemed to be an approved residential care home from 1 July 2025. But unlike registration approval of residential care homes is ongoing so any current MPS services will not need to be reapproved by the Commission after 1 July 2025 unless the approval is revoked.
The new Act specifies some requirements that must be met in order for the Commission to approve a residential care home. Some of these are more procedural in nature such as the building being permanent and being fitted, furnished and staffed to provide funded aged care services as well as the provider having permission to operate a residential care home on those premises if they don’t own the buildings. However the Commission will also need to be satisfied that the buildings or at least the parts that are being used to deliver residential aged care services are set up in a way that doesn’t present a risk to the delivery of quality and safe care.
And as part of the approval process the Commission will assign a total number of beds to the residential care home and this will determine the maximum number of individuals that can receive funded residential care services through that home. This number may be different to your MPS place allocation but the places that you’re allocated for that home will never exceed the total beds approved by the Commission. And this is not like the ACAR process. The only limit on this number is how many people you can safely accommodate in the home while still meeting your quality of care obligations.
And a provider can apply to the Commission to add or remove an approved home from their registration or to their registration or to change the total number of beds assigned to a home at any time. And whilst it’s not mentioned on the slide the Commission can also revoke the approval of a home if it no longer meets the approval requirements or on request by the registered provider. But we always keep continuity of care and risk to individuals’ wellbeing at the front of our mind when we are considering those types of decisions.
Now as mentioned one of our key functions is auditing providers under the Act. And probably very important to really clarify that the purpose of audit under the new Act is quite different from what current providers may be used to under the current Act. The Commission will no longer be accrediting individual residential aged care facilities but will instead be auditing the registered providers against the Aged Care Quality Standards as part of their registration and renewal processes as well as for some variations of registration. The audit process helps the Commission and the provider understand how well the provider’s delivery of care conforms with the Aged Care Quality Standards. The Commission uses this information to inform our registration and renewal decisions as well as letting the provider know where they’re doing well and also where improvements are needed. This information also influences the star ratings assigned to the approved residential care home.
Providers delivering services under the MPS Program need to meet an audit requirement just like any other provider of residential aged care services. However as is the case now the Commission will continue to recognise assessments against the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards along with the Aged Care Module as satisfying the audit requirements for MPS services. This assessment against the Health Service Standards does not need to be done at the same time as the provider is applying for registration or renewal but it does need to have been done in the three years prior to the application and we will require a copy of the assessment report as part of the registration or renewal process.
And it is important to keep in mind that the Commission may still need to audit providers who deliver funded aged care services outside of the MPS Program if those services are in the registration categories of residential care which is Category 6, nursing and transition care which is Category 5, or personal and care support in the home or community which is Category 4.
So how do we monitor providers? Now the Commission’s approach to monitoring MPS providers under the new Act will be consistent with the approach that we use for any other registered provider and will rely on our supervision model to monitor compliance with obligations. Now the four levels of supervision that you can see on the slide represent increasing levels of regulatory intervention from the Commission in the provider’s delivery of care and services ranging from a baseline level of risk surveillance all the way to our intensive case management under heightened supervision. A provider is assigned a supervision level at the point of registration and assuming there are no issues or risks picked up during the registration process this supervision level will normally be at that baseline level of risk surveillance. Now providers who are deemed into the new regulatory framework rather than registered will carry a supervision level based on the risk profile at the time the new Act commences.
Now these supervision levels change in response to identified risks and the provider’s commitment to addressing those risks. Now as you can see there are four levels of supervision. Risk surveillance where we’re monitoring intelligence and information that comes to the Commission and through a variety of sources to assure that the level of risk of that provider is not at a heightening level. Once we have identified risk and we are working with a provider depending on the level of risk and the ability to respond of the provider they will work through targeted supervision through active and potentially to heightened supervision which is really at the point where we are considering market exit for that provider. Now we will always let a provider know if they are under one of the higher supervision levels and we make our expectations clear regarding the steps a provider needs to take to address risk to noncompliance and lower their supervision status.
Now a common question that we receive in preparation for the 1st of July and the new Act is whether there will be any leeway for providers to not comply with the new obligations. And the simple answer is no. The Commission, as in the case with all regulators, does not have discretion to ignore a provider not complying with requirements. However we do have discretion about how we approach the task of managing that non-compliance and where we direct our time and effort on enforcement action.
So what does this look like and how do we engage with non-compliance? So where providers are found to be not complying with their obligations we want to understand the extent to which they are trying to meet these obligations. This is essential to informing our regulatory response which is underpinned by a risk-based and proportionate approach. Where providers are mostly there and they can show us they are making best efforts to address issues those providers, and as is the case now, will have the opportunity to demonstrate that they have an appropriate plan to fix those issues and that they have made the commitment and they have the capability to deliver those remediations. However where providers demonstrate that they are unwilling to remedy non-compliance or unable to remedy that non-compliance in an appropriate time our response will look quite different and we may seek to use our regulatory powers to prompt action. Noting that the consequence associated with our use of those powers is only imposed if a provider persists in refusing to do what they are otherwise required to do under the Act, Standards or Rules within a reasonable time period to protect older Australians in care.
And under the new Act the Commission can and will use its full range of regulatory tools and powers to ensure that all providers including MPS providers are complying with their obligations. So MPS providers should not expect to be treated differently to any other registered provider in relation to compliance and enforcement actions where they are required. Now the specific tools the Commission may use will depend on the circumstances and that includes the posture of the provider and the outcomes we’re trying to achieve or avoid consistent with our risk-based, proportionate approach to regulation as described in our published regulatory strategy.
Now for example at the lower end the Commission may issue an administrative request for more information about a particular matter through an email or a letter to one of the provider’s responsible persons. And where a provider is forthcoming with the information and it does not indicate any unacceptable level of risk or suggest non-compliance we may resolve the matter there and then. However if a provider declines to provide the information or the information provided suggests a provider may not be complying with their obligations the Commission may compel the production of more information or documents or use formal notices that require a provider to undertake certain actions in response.
So as a general rule we will always engage with providers first and support them to return to compliance. However if we identify risks to the health or safety of individuals in your care we may resort straight to those compelling actions to quickly address those risks.
And where we identify ongoing concerns with a provider’s conduct that require a longer term change in behaviour the Commission has a broad power to impose additional conditions on registration to mitigate or address those risks. Now breaches of those conditions may result in further compliance or enforcement action being taken. So where the non-compliance is serious or systemic and is putting people at risk or the provider is not willing to change their behaviour then in addition to forcing providers to take certain actions to address immediate risks we may also impose fines, remove providers from the market and ban their responsible persons from participating in the delivery of aged care in the future. But as always if we are considering revoking a provider’s registration or taking other actions that may limit their ability to deliver services the impacts on the individuals receiving services will be and always will be a primary consideration.
So I guess the next part of the information is about how obligations may apply differently to services provided under the MPS Program. So while the Commission’s regulatory approach to MPS providers will be consistent with its approach to other registered providers both the Department and Commission recognise the value of the services provided under the MPS Program and the unique circumstances under which these providers operate. Now the obligations will be covered in detail by the Department later in this webinar so I won’t spend too much time on it here. But there are a few examples on the slide you can see of the obligations under the new Act that apply differently to services provided under the MPS Program.
And just as the Commission and Department recognise the unique circumstances faced by providers of MPS services we acknowledge that Government providers operate under specific governance and financial structures that will not always align with the obligations on private sector providers. So as such just as with MPS services some obligations will not apply to all Government providers while others will continue to apply but a little bit differently. So if you still have questions after the webinar about the precise details of which these obligations will apply in particular circumstances we recommend that you review the published drafts of the Aged Care Rules on the Department’s website.
So the next slide is showing a range of further resources that are accessible to providers so that you can gain additional information regarding reform and some additional guidance and resources to help you with this.
So they will be available through the pack once it is promulgated as well. But I will now hand over to Aimee who will begin her presentation. So thank you Aimee.
Aimee Chambers:
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Supported Decision Making’, ‘Aimee Chambers, Navigation & Access Branch’]
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Australian Government with Crest (logo)’, ‘Department of Health and Aged Care’, ‘The Supporter Role’, ‘Aged Care Act 2024’, ‘agedcareengagement.health.gov.au’]
Thanks so much Paul and thanks for having me here everyone. My name’s Aimee Chambers. I’m the Assistant Secretary of the Navigation and Access Branch. So we look after My Aged Care, both the phone and the website, and a range of other support structures that support older people to navigate through the aged care system.
So today I’ve got the pleasure of sharing information about the supporter role and supported decision making within the new Aged Care Act that will start on 1 July.
So we’re moving to a rights-based Act. The first recommendation of the Royal Commission was for a new Act and the second recommendation was that the Act should include a Statement of Rights. The new Aged Care Act puts the rights of older people first. Upholding the Statement of Rights is everybody’s responsibility. An older person having a supporter to assist their decision making is their right.
The new Act establishes a legislative framework for the registration of supporters which will help to embed supported decision making across the aged care system. Supported decision making is the process of providing support to older people to help them make and communicate their own decisions and remain in control of their lives. To be able to do this supporters can generally receive information about the older person. This process supports and maintains an older person’s autonomy, independence, dignity and self-determination. A supporter is a person who with the older person’s consent can be registered on My Aged Care. My Aged Care is the central register for supporter relationships. It’s important to note that there is no obligation or requirement for an older person to register a supporter as not every older person will want or need a supporter.
However having a registered supporter means an older person has support to make decisions. Older people can register as many supporters as they want and they are not limited to only registering one person.
Registered supporters will have duties that they must uphold including to act in line with the older person’s wishes and preferences.
Currently older people can have people registered with My Aged Care to support or act for them in My Aged Care. These relationships are called regular representatives and authorised representatives. Most representative relationships will go through changes to come under the new Act. If an older person has a regular or authorised representative active in My Aged Care when the Act commences they will become a supporter under the new Act. Regular representatives, authorised representatives and older people with regular representatives can opt out of having or being a supporter between now and when the Act commences. They can opt out at any time by calling My Aged Care or using their My Aged Care online account.
There is no financial cost to opting out of the transition. Until the Act starts representatives will also continue to have the same powers and function until the new act starts. After 1 July older people and supporters can still ask to end their supporter relationships online or by calling My Aged Care. To get ready older people and representatives can review their existing representatives in My Aged Care. Providers when you’re talking to trusted people of an older person regularly, to help the older person please ask them and their trusted person to consider registering their trusted person as a supporter with My Aged Care. We’ll have a look now briefly at a case study to talk through how this experience might flow over the coming months.
I won’t read it word for word but you will have this after the session today and it’s on the screen now for you to absorb. I do want to highlight that this is a really great example of how supporters can enable older people to continue to make and communicate their own decisions and remain in control of their own lives. Petra is engaged with My Aged Care making sure the information about and for George is up to date. She understands her role and responsibilities and how to interact with George, My Aged Care and the provider. Petra is balancing her enlivened legal responsibility as an enduring guardian with promoting George’s will and preferences. So I encourage you to take the time to have a look at that case study when the pack comes out.
If an older person is not yet registered in My Aged Care we can help you out with that. We’ve got a few tips and tricks up our sleeve here today. Wherever possible everyone should in the first instance ask the older person to make decisions about their aged care services rather than deferring to the supporter or a substitute decision maker. This is about the behaviour for all of us to first assume capacity of the older person and then consider what they may need to ensure that they can make their own decisions. We need to have conversations with older people about who their supporters are and let them know that their trusted people can be registered in My Aged Care. We can help the older person to know if and when they engage in an aged care assessment the assessor will ask the older person if they want to register a supporter and that they can input those details during the assessment.
We know sometimes an older person’s ability to make decisions and communicate their will and preferences may change from day to day. So the process of using supported decision making can vary and be very effective in maintaining the decision making capacity of an older person.
Supported decision making acknowledges with the right support most people can make decisions about their lives rather than having someone else make decisions for them. Supported decision making focuses on what supports are needed to assist the older person to make their own decisions. There are many examples of support used in supported decision making to help the older person stay in control of their decisions. Some might be more time to explore options, decision options presented in different ways, and so helping the older person receive information and advice in a way they prefer, visually rather than verbally for example, only making one decision at a time, and/or conversations about decisions happening at a time and a place where the older person feels most comfortable.
So I’d encourage you to keep learning more about supported decision making as we move towards implementation of the new Aged Care Act. You can stay informed by subscribing to newsletters and visiting the aged care reforms roadmap. You can also visit the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website or the My Aged Care website. Both have a variety of resources and information about supported decision making and getting ready for the Act.
You can also contact the My Aged Care Contact Centre or email us And I think those details are up on the screen there.
Translating and interpreter services are available through a free call and they can also translate information about aged care into your language making it easier for you or your clients to understand.
So thank you for having me here today and I’ll hand over to Cathy to kick off her next presentation. Thanks Cathy.
Cathy Milfull:
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Tranche 4b of the Rules for the new Act’, ‘Cathy Milfull, Thin Markets Branch’]
Thanks so much Aimee and thanks Paul. And I’ll start the next part of the presentation. But we’ve already got some questions coming through for Aimee and Paul so please keep them coming. So lastly we just wanted to talk quickly, not in too much detail, but just give you a heads up around Tranche 4B of the Rules for the Aged Care Act.
So just to clarify as per the screen the consultation period for this final tranche is now open so you have until the 13th of May to provide comments. There’s an online form that you can use to do that. But basically today we just wanted to try and give you a bit of an overview as this tranche is quite large. I think from memory it’s almost 200 pages. So appreciate you’re all very busy people. So what we’ve just tried to do as previously is give you a bit of a summary of the topics that are included in this tranche of rules. And as you can see in the table here we’ve just specified below which ones of these are relevant to the MPS Program specifically and that’s what we’ll talk about today. But you can of course always reach out if you need any further information.
So moving onto the next slide. The first topic we’re going to look at that’s included in tranche 4b relates to eligibility. So essentially the Rules here provide some more detail around the new common eligibility requirements for older people that apply across mainstream and specialist aged care programs from 1 July. So we’ve talked about those requirements previously in the context of the Act itself and the Rules just provide some further details about certain matters.
I won’t go through that in too much detail but I just wanted to flag some key things for this group of providers is that the Rules do provide some additional information about reassessments, so when does an older person need to seek a reassessment in the new world. And specific to MPS you know we’ve spoken previously about the importance of alternative entry arrangements for this program. So that’s where you might want to take someone into care and start delivering services immediately even though they haven’t completed the application and assessment process. Maybe you can’t wait, it’s urgent, or you’re aware that there’s actually going to be a delay in that assessment occurring and it’s important the services are delivered now. So in that alternative entry scenario the rules just specify for you that basically the older person involved has 30 days after you commence delivering services to actually lodge the application and start that formal application and assessment process going. So we’ve given you 30 days in that scenario for MPS rather than five in the case of most other programs. So we’re hoping that reflects some of the complexities in the rural and remote environment but if you don’t think that’s adequate please give us some feedback.
All right. Next up. These Rules also again cover some more information around Aged Care Commission registration and approval processes, so some of the matters that Paul has just been talking about. The only thing I particularly wanted to call out here which I think Paul did reference was that this is where you’ll actually see in the Rules the alternative audit arrangements that we all talk about that are in place for the MPS Program now and will continue to be from 1 July. I just wanted to flag in case anyone gets confused, you’ll see this reference to the integrated aged care module and I just wanted to flag that that’s effectively code for what you now know as the MPS module or the Aged Care module. So that’s how it’s reflected in the Rules.
Also just wanted to mention that I understand the Australian Commission into Quality and Safety in Healthcare has sent out that draft module for consultation but if you do need any further information or you would like for us to present more again about that module in future webinars please just let my team know.
All right. Next up – and sorry. I do appreciate the Rules are a little bit of a dry topic but I do think this is important to discuss with you all. So the next slides really cover additional content in this tranche of the Rules that relate to conditions on provider registration and obligations on providers. So really this is a good example of what Paul was talking about earlier where the obligations on providers when they’re delivering services under the Multi-Purpose Service Program might be slightly different. Some things might not apply at all and some things might be varied. So as normal the tables here try and explain that to you.
This first slide gives you two topics in terms of conditions. The first one is service delivery. So we’ve talked about that really before in these webinars but essentially there are some obligations that will not be I’ll say particularly new from a residential care provider perspective. But there are some new obligations particularly around meals and food that are effectively being expanded from 1 July to a non-residential care context. So that’s just something to be aware of. Again now you’re actually going to be able to see the Rules so you can provide feedback on the details there.
The other topic here is quite important. So that’s Service Agreements. So I did just want to flag this because it is a change from current arrangements. So some of you might be aware that currently you need to offer people in residential care an agreement but there’s sort of no formal requirement to have that in place. I just want to confirm as per the screen here from 1 July we will need you to have Service Agreements in place. What we have done is vary the required content of that agreement to fit the MPS context we believe. But I really ask that people do look at the rules for this section, let us know if there are any practical concerns here and let us know if any of the content in those agreements that would be required you think would be problematic for some reason.
Similarly the next topic here is care and services plans. So similarly a requirement to have those plans in place and review them. So again I think this is probably unlikely to be really a new requirement in the sense that obviously in the context of the Aged Care Quality Standards care and services plans are already something you’ll be aware of. But again good to check that you don’t think there’s any unintended consequences here from the way the Rules have been drafted.
At the bottom of the screen here, the next topic is personal information and record keeping. So I just wanted to flag here nothing really new here except you will see some record keeping obligations that basically relate to the reporting requirements I’m basically about to talk about. So the reports that you already complete for us annually for MPS will basically continue and so the Rules actually set out the records that must be kept in order to allow you to complete those reports.
So next topic of the Rules that you’ll find relates to provision of information to individuals. So there is this part of the Rules that specifically outlines obligations and information that you need to provide to individuals to whom you are delivering services. I believe we talked about some of these before. As you’ll see quite a few of these are exempt for MPS however those that relate specifically to consumer protection, for example the requirement to provide a person with information about a Statement of Rights, still applies to MPS. I did also just want to flag I’ve highlighted a couple of sections there in yellow. That’s just because at the moment you’ll see they do apply to MPS and all providers actually but I’m just having a few internal discussions about those ones. We do think they might need a bit of adjustment particularly for Government providers. But again welcome your feedback on those provisions as well.
All right. So next topic is reporting. So as you’ll see here there are a number of additional Rules in this tranche relating to reporting that are completely irrelevant for MPS but the important ones basically relate to the reports that you already provide to the Department every year but at the moment that requirement if you like really sits under our MPS Agreements with the provider. From 1 July that’s actually in the Rules. So you’ll see here that basically there’s three reports. The way they’re referred to is a little bit different though and there’s a few changes so I’ll just explain that now.
So hopefully some good news for everyone. You’ll see that you still need to provide your annual statement of financial compliance and income expenditure but under the Rules we’ve extended the timeframe for that to align with other financial reporting under the Rules. So basically you’ve got a bit more time to do that every year. And then in terms of the other two reports which is essentially the annual activity report and what’s now known as the service demographics report, we’ve actually reduced the amount of information that you need to provide us. We want to make sure we’re only asking for what is critical. So hopefully that’s good news. But I did want to flag we have suggested that providers would need to provide those two reports by 31 July every year if possible. So again we’d really appreciate your feedback if you think that’s going to be – if there are going to be any practical challenges to compliance in that space. The reason we have done that is that these reports are really important for annual reporting for aged care more broadly and at the moment the MPS timeframes don’t allow us to fully include MPS reporting which I think is really disappointing for our clients but also doesn’t give a complete picture of aged care activity for the year.
All right. Next up notification of changes in circumstances. So I just wanted to flag as well there are obligations in this tranche, not just reporting in terms of regular reporting but reporting in terms of where you need to notify the Commission because something has occurred. So I won’t go into much detail about that now but you can see on the screen it highlights what those events are. It also highlights some of the cases where only non-Government providers need to make those notifications and it’s recognised that that’s not required in the case of Government providers. So again just great if you could check the details. Most of these really reflect current arrangements anyway but there are a couple of new ones like asking MPS to tell us if there’s significant changes in the scale of operations or the services that they intend to deliver or where they intend to change the use of contractors to deliver aged care services.
All right. Last up which I’m going to run through so we can get to questions. Just flagging that there are a couple of extra bits towards the end of this tranche in the Rules that cover things like some more detail around the Commission’s complaints processes for example, what the System Governor may publish and what additional decisions under the Act are reviewable. So have a look at those too if you’re interested but they’re less probably directly relevant to the MPS Program.
So that’s it. We’ve made it through the formal presentations. Sorry. It did take a bit longer as expected. But what I’ll get now is Paul and Aimee to join me back on screen and we’ll start to go through a few of the questions. If we don’t get through everything don’t be worried. We will do that out of session. So I think first off we had a question I think Paul really sits with you which was:
Q: Will the Commission undertake surveillance visits, ie would the old unannounced visits now include visits to MPS as well as a mainstream residential care home?
Paul Heinemann:
Yeah. Thanks Cathy and thank you for the question. So I guess the short answer is where we are aware of risks and we need to go on site at a provider to better understand those risks and most importantly ensure the safety of older persons we will absolutely do so. Now depending on the circumstances, and that includes the immediacy of the risk and the level of potential harm to older Australians, we may or may not communicate with the provider beforehand. However in the audit space we will always communicate to the provider beforehand. So look our goal is generally that we’re not trying to find any gotcha moments but where we do need to get there quickly with expediency to protect older Australians and we are unable to make contact with a provider we may turn up unannounced. So the answer is potentially depending on the circumstance and the nature of risk we are confronted with.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Paul. All right. Then I think we’ve got a couple Aimee that probably sit in your space. The first one was:
Q: How will representatives be advised that they need to opt out if they no longer wish to be a supported decision maker on the register?
Aimee Chambers:
Yep. Not a problem. Thanks for that one. So I think we’ve got a wide ranging communication campaign that’s underway at the moment. Presentations like this are happening in a variety of different forums with a range of different stakeholders. So we’re undertaking a range of different awareness raising activities. We’ve got a bunch of different resources and information available that were on those final screens that we showed there in the presentation on both the My Aged Care website and the Department of Health and Aged Care website, really to share messages about supported decision making and opt in and opt out availability. Additionally the processes we’ve amended in My Aged Care. So at the moment if you give My Aged Care a call there will be some prompts around supporters and supported decision making, validating current arrangements or reconsidering those current arrangements. So we’ve got a range of strategies in place to support people to be informed about their roles and their responsibilities and that can continue. Removing yourself as a supporter over time can continue once we transition under the new Act.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Aimee. I think there was another question about basically how providers can confirm someone is a registered provider, noting what might be on MAC. I don’t know if you can provide any further info there?
Aimee Chambers:
Yeah. So I think the first thing, the first principle would be to ask the older person. You don’t have to be registered with My Aged Care to support an older person. So the first principle is always ask the older person if they have a supporter, if they would like the person with them to be their supporter at that point in time. So that would be the first opportunity there. The second opportunity would be to call My Aged Care and then thirdly when the supporters are registered their details will be able to be seen on the older person’s online account and in My Aged Care. So once your provider’s used in the My Aged Care services and support portal that information will be made available through that portal. But I would reinforce ask the older person because even if they’re not registered the person that’s with them, if they want them to support them, that is their supporter.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Aimee. And I might just stick with you for now while we’re there. There was just also a question about whether supporters will get any kind of card similar to an authorised representative in the current My Aged Care?
Aimee Chambers:
As far as I’m aware I don’t think we have that in our operational plans at the moment because we are making that information available through the online account and so that should be available in those portals through that. But I think absolutely this is the kind of insight and information that these forums give us. That’s obviously something that’s of value in the sector so we’ll absolutely take that on board and have a look at what that might look like.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Aimee. All right. I think we’re getting close to time. There are two questions which might be for me but I’ve just noticed we’ve got one extra one around:
Q: So you receive a phone call on behalf of someone. You need to speak with the older person before continuing the conversation with the supporter?
Aimee is that something you wanted to address as well?
Aimee Chambers:
So I think it will depend on the circumstance. Obviously again that principle of asking the older person if that’s okay in that situation or utilising the online account information to validate that that person has a supporter role, whether that be a legally binding role or a voluntary role that they have under the Act. So a couple of different opportunities and different ways to go about that in your interactions with older people.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Aimee. And there’s a couple of extra questions some which are actually quite complex so I just might answer initially and also happy to provide some further information. One I think from Winn, WA really for Paul and I probably. Was just about the difference between funded places versus approved beds. So I might just start and Paul happy for you to add in. I think Winn probably just important to note here we’re probably talking about slightly different things in terms of there’s obviously place allocations in the MPS Program which we’ve discussed before and there are transitional arrangements for that for 1 July and that really determines MPS funding. Correct me if I’m wrong Paul but from the Commission’s point of view we’re more looking from a consumer protection angle how many actual people in beds is it safe to have in a residential care home. And so we obviously want to make sure that regardless of whether you’re funded or not MPS don’t have more people than would ensure they’re getting quality and safe care. Is that fair to say Paul?
Paul Heinemann:
Cathy you’ve answered it brilliantly. Yep. What you’ve said is exactly right.
Cathy Milfull:
Okay. Awesome. Phew. Thanks Paul. All right. What else have we got here? We do have – I’m conscious we’ve got two minutes left. We do have one about NDIS residents in MPS. I might just take that on notice Jennifer. Not avoiding it. I’d just like to make sure I check the details with you and make sure we get the right answer. Obviously aged care funding should be used to deliver services to people approved for funded aged care services. So NDIS has a different funding stream. But I think I understand your question with the previous RACF arrangements so I’ll just clarify that one and get back to you if that’s okay.
We’ve got a question around MPS reporting. That’s a good question Ashleigh. Certainly there is a requirement for the states basically or the provider to tell us what the state contribution for the particular MPS is. And actually that at the moment is still sitting in the agreement. And I believe Ashleigh the real reason for that is actually you effectively give us that information and my team actually put it in the agreement and we amend the agreement to reflect that contribution. But thank you. You’ve got me thinking. I will have a further think about whether that’s appropriate. It’s a great question. But it is covered in the agreement template.
All right. Have I forgotten anything? Just looking at my prompts from the team. I think there are some just questions around – we have been talking about some potential naming changes in terms of consistency and how we name MPS but just flagging that there have been actually some further developments on that one so I’ll be coming back out to state and territory jurisdictions on that so don’t worry about proposed name changes for now. Is there anything else team I have missed? I don’t think so.
Online Participant:
I think we’ve got to the end Cathy. I think you’ve got them all.
Cathy Milfull:
Excellent. All right. Well it is three o’clock anyway so if I have missed anything don’t worry. We will follow up that out of session. But thank you so much for joining us today. It’s been great to see those questions come in. Fabulous to have Aimee and Paul with us and really keen to just keep the conversation going as we head towards 1 July. So thanks everyone. Really appreciate your time.
Aimee Chambers:
Thanks everyone.
Paul Heinemann:
Thank you.
[End of Transcript]
This webinar was held on 29 April 2025 and provides instructions on:
- Regulation of providers delivering services under the MPSP and under the new Act
- Supported decision-making
- Draft rules out for consultation (Tranche 4b)
- Questions and answers.