The Bill will amend the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth) and the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 (Cth) to enable the introduction of eight measures, namely:
- the introduction of the Australian National Aged Care Classification to replace the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) as a means of determining the residential aged care subsidy calculation model from 1 October 2022;
- nationally consistent pre-employment screening for aged care workers to replace existing police checking obligations;
- amendments to allow the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (the Commission) to make and enforce a Code of Conduct that will apply to approved providers and their workers, including governing persons. The amendments will give the Commission the power to take enforcement actions for breaches of the Code, including the introduction of banning orders;
- the extension of the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) to home care and flexible care delivered in a home or community setting from 1 July 2022;
- the introduction of new governance requirements for providers;
- amendments to allow the Commissioner or the Secretary to request information or documents from a provider or borrower relating to the use of a loan made with a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) or accommodation bond and create an offence for a provider or borrower who does not comply with the request;
- extending the period of liability for existing offences involving the misuse of RAD funds or an accommodation bond;
- consequential amendments to a number of other Commonwealth acts to facilitate greater information sharing between Commonwealth bodies across the aged care, disability and the veterans’ affairs sectors in relation to the non-compliance of providers and workers; and
- amendments to expand the function of the renamed Independent Hospital and Aged Care Pricing Authority (formerly the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority) to support the transparent and evidence-based assessment of the costs involved in delivering care to senior Australians who use aged care.
The Bill is currently before the Senate and is expected to pass before the next Commonwealth election.
What can providers do to prepare?
Although the starting dates for some of these changes will not be confirmed until after the Bill has passed the Senate and received Royal Assent, providers can prepare themselves by being proactive, familiarising themselves with the upcoming changes and ensuring that they have policies and procedures in place to accommodate the changes as they become operational.
Panetta McGrath will be providing a series of articles looking at each of the key measures in turn, setting out the changes and providing practical guidance to providers about how to stay ahead and navigate the changes as they come into force.
To keep up to date with the Bill and to subscribe to our Aged Care blog, click here.
