We are barely a month into 2023 and it is already shaping up to be another hectic year for aged care providers. Here are five major upcoming reforms to flag now so that you can prepare early and be ready.
From 1 July 2023, providers will have to ensure that “at least one registered nurse is on site, and on duty, at all times at the residential facility.” In this context, “registered nurse” (RN) means:
Exemptions to this requirement will apply. Details are yet to be provided, but the Government has indicated that exemptions are likely to be available:
It is likely that additional reporting will be required by providers on 24/7 RN coverage, for example reporting at the end of each month through a form on the My Aged Care Provider Portal. The reporting for care minutes and 24/7 RN care will be used to inform the new star ratings.
The requirement is expected to commence 1 July 2023.
The Government has committed to introducing:
Details are yet to be finalised, but the Government has said that:
Mandatory 200 minutes care time expected to commence October 2023, increasing to mandatory 215 minutes from October 2024.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Commission) is planning to revise the Aged Care Quality Standards. The proposed changes will reduce the number of Standards from eight to seven, and consolidate some areas covered by each of the Standards. There will be new expectation statements for each of the Standards which will replace the consumer outcome statements in the current Standards.
The proposed revised quality Standards will be:
As of 17 January 2023, there is no official start date for the new Standards. It is expected that there will be a transition period to allow providers to familiarise themselves with the new Standards and to implement any systems and practices to allow them to comply. Further consultation will commence in early 2023 on guidance material for providers and older people, as well as the implementation of the revised Standards and transition periods.
In August 2022, the Government passed legislation that imposed new requirements with respect to aged care governance. While all new aged providers must meet these requirements immediately, existing aged care providers do not have to meet the requirements until December 2023 (“existing provider” means a provider who was approved before December 2022). There are three new requirements:
Providers will need to ensure that:
These requirements do not apply to small aged care homes (with fewer than five board members and fewer than 40 residents) or to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.
The new reforms also require providers to give their care recipients and the care recipients’ representatives the opportunity to form a consumer advisory body. Providers must provide this opportunity at least every 12 months and keep a record of each offer. The consumer advisory body would be able to give the provider feedback on the quality of its service and the care provided. If such a body is established, the governing body of the provider is obliged to consider the body’s feedback when making decisions about the quality of care and inform the body of this consideration. If a consumer advisory body is formed, records must be kept about its composition.
There are also new requirements related to aged care providers who are a wholly-owned subsidiary of another body corporate that is not an aged care provider. To ensure that the interests of consumers are always placed first and foremost, a provider cannot allow their constitution to authorise a director of the provider to act in the best interests of the holding company.
These requirements apply from 1 December 2023 for existing providers. For providers who are approved after 1 December 2022, the requirements apply immediately.
In April 2022, the Health Care Services Union (Union) and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Federation) brought a case before the Fair Work Commission (FWC), seeking to vary several awards to increase pay for aged care workers by 25 per cent.
On 4 November 2022, the FWC released a Summary of Decision. Under the heading “An Interim Increase”, the decision states that a 15 per cent wage increase for direct care workers in the Aged Care and SCHADS Awards and nurses working in aged care who fall under the Nurses Award, was “Plainly justified by work value reasons”. The FWC also noted that this ruling would not conclude their consideration for a 25 per cent increase for employees, specifically those in administrative, kitchen, cleaning, and other support roles. The FWC further stated “Nor are we suggesting the 15 per cent interim increase necessarily exhausts the extent of the increase justified by work value reasons in respect of direct care workers.”
The case is not yet resolved. The parties are discussing the issues and must report back to the FWC on 28 February 2023. The FWC will then decide on the next steps.