What the Aged Care Reform will bring in 2022
February 4, 2022 | Aged Care Management
By Katie Airey, Quality, Risk and Compliance Lead
Recent years have seen significant changes in the Aged Care industry, and 2022 will be no exception. The aged care reform agenda released by The Department of Health consists of 5 pillars – Home Care, Residential Aged Care Services & Sustainability, Residential Aged Care Quality & Safety, Workforce and Governance.
This year it is expected that the industry will experience the following changes as part of the aged care reform:
| Structural Adjustment Program – Business Improvement Fund – Round 2, now open – closes 30 March 2022. – Structural adjustment Fund – Opens January 2022, closes 30 June 2023. |
| Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) will expand to include in-home aged care services – July 2022 |
| Mandatory care time standards and reporting; – July 2022 – Providers will be required to provide monthly care statements to residents (and their families) outlining the care they have received and any significant changes or events during the month. Reporting on care staffing minutes will move to a quarterly basis. – December 2022 – Information collected from staffing minutes will be used as a contributing factor in star ratings. |
| Single assessment workforce introduction – October 2022 |
| Transition to the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) funding model – October 2022 |
| Commencement of Star Ratings System – measured by available data which includes; – Five quality indicators – Compliance rating – Consumer experience – Care minutes |
| Telehealth and out-of-hours services – Primary Health Network (PHN) |
| An increase in site audits from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (target of 1,500 additional site visits) |
| Increase in personal care workforce (up to 7000 new workers) |
| 33,800 additional training places to be rolled out |
| Incentives and financial support schemes to attract and retain Registered Nurses |
| 40,000 additional home care packages |
| 8,400 more respite services available |
Consumer choice and dignity is at the core of the aged care quality standards and with the introduction of the star rating, our focus on improving how we deliver care and services is under the spotlight. With current and potential consumers able to compare organisations at a glance, an emphasis on the overall star rating and the subcategories is essential to improving occupancy levels.
How would you and your consumers rate your organisation now?
- Have you sought feedback from your workforce?
- Do your consumers say they feel at home within your organisation?
- How do your quality indicators compare to industry bench marking?
- Have you analysed your rostered hours to determine current care minutes?
Utilising an independent practice to review your data, allows your team to gain an alternative perspective to improving care outcomes, while also gaining industry wide insights into compliance.
Our quality, risk and compliance team provide an independent scalable solution to ensure a proactive approach to quality improvement which enhances compliance, streamlines systems, and improves workforce conformance.
Having supported organisations through non-compliance and sanctions, our quality, risk and compliance team have a solid track record of improving outcomes for consumers and organisations.
If you would like to talk further about how we partner with you to ensure robust governance frameworks and improve consumer outcomes reach out to Katie Airey on 0421 661 790 or email katie.airey@mirus.group to discuss how we can help!
