What you really need to know about R-ACFI

There’s been quite a lot of speculation of late in the aged care industry, particularly around the Residential Aged Care Reform and the announcement of the Review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (R-ACFI).

Much of this speculation is caused by uncertainty in the industry as aged care providers work to interpret and understand how the reforms will affect them – their business, staff and their residents.

Formally introduced on 20 March 2008, the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) is now nearly ten years old – and our industry has come a long way in that time.

There is some good news however with the roll out and implementation of R-ACFI, and that is…. we have some time up our sleeve. Quite a bit in fact.

The Department of Health commissioned the ACFI review report to help inform the Government’s decision over the future direction for funding reform. It is important to note that NO decisions on the findings of the report have been made to date. This is pending the results of the Resource Utilisation and Classification Study (RUCS).

The RUCS, which will take place during 2018, will look at the relative cost drivers of delivering care. The Government will consider the proposed pilot after reviewing the results from this study, as well as further consultation with the sector.

Assuming all goes to plan without delay, RUCS is due for completion in December 2018. Thich means that the pilot would be likely to start in January 2019 at the earliest. This also suggests to us that R-ACFI itself, if implemented in any form, would not come into effect until at least Q1 FY 2020.

Here’s our expected timeline …

We understand that the Government is committed to open and transparent engagement with the sector on this topic, and will continue to consult with the sector and stakeholders throughout the reform process.

Mirus is here to help…

If you’d like further information or R-ACFI, or if you have any queries, please feel free to drop us a line. We’ll be following these new reforms to understand the changes and how they are likely to impact our clients and the industry.

Further information
Updates on the funding reform work will be made available on the Department’s Aged Care website

You may also have come across the latest Information for Aged Care Providers newsletter which provides advice on progress of the RUCS.