Transparency of Information Principles 2023

By Taranjot Minhas, Consultant

On 2 May 2023, the Department of Health and Aged Care published the Exposure Draft Care Legislation Amendment (Transparency of Information) Principles 2023, which outlines that commencing this year, residential care, home care and transition care providers will report additional information about their operations to the Department of Health and Aged Care on an annual basis.

Key dates

• This amendment is scheduled to commence on 1 July 2023.
• The first reporting period is 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.
• Information for the first reporting period is due by 31 October 2023 through GPMS.

See this factsheet for further information.

The purpose of the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Transparency of Information) Principles 2023 (Amending Principles) is to specify the information in relation to aged care services which the Secretary must make publicly available. The Amending Principles amend the Accountability Principles 2014 (Accountability Principles) and the Information Principles 2014 (Information Principles).

The key upcoming changes are listed below and further details can also be found here.

Key Changes

• Statement signed by the governing body
• Income in relation to the service in a financial year
• Expenditure on:
  • Care, including labour costs
  • Catering
  • Maintenance
  • Laundry & cleaning
  • Administration
• Profit & loss in relation to the service in a financial year
• The most common kinds of feedback & complaints received by the provider
• Improvements made by the provider in relation to quality of the service
• Demographic representation of the members of the governing body
• Initiatives that support a diverse and inclusive environment in relation to the service, for consumers and employees
• Total number of persons who have received residential care
• Occupancy rate
• Number of persons who entered the services and
• Number of persons who the provider ceased services to.

While this may seem excessive and time consuming, the Department of Health and Aged Care emphasises that the Amending Principles are aimed at assisting current and prospective aged care recipients and their representatives to better understand the operations and financial information of approved providers and services. This increased transparency is intended to support choice by empowering current and prospective care recipients to make more informed care decisions. It will also increase the accountability of aged care providers and their services.

Want to learn more? Reach out to our quality, risk and compliance team.