EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
FLEXIBLE CARE SUBSIDY
DETERMINATION UNDER SECTION 52-1 FOR FLEXIBLE CARE SUBSIDY IN RESPECT OF EXTENDED AGED CARE AT HOME - DEMENTIA
(ACA Ch. 3 No. 14/2006)
Subsection 52-1(2) of the Aged Care Act 1997 (“the Act”) provides that the Minister may determine in writing the amounts of flexible care subsidy or determine a method which must be used to work out the amount of flexible care subsidy.
This Determination sets out the method that must be used for working out the amount of flexible care subsidy payable in relation to the provision of flexible care in the form of Extended Aged Care at Home – Dementia (EACH-Dementia) packages from the date of registration of the Determination.
EACH-Dementia packages are a new form of flexible care introduced through an amendment to the Flexible Care Subsidy Principles 1997 (“the Principles”) made by the Minister on 2 November 2005. EACH-Dementia packages provide nursing and personal care services and dementia specific strategies in the home to people who would be eligible for high level residential care.
This Determination provides a method of calculation of flexible care subsidy for EACH-Dementia which includes a basic subsidy amount equivalent to the Category 1 level on the Resident Classification Scale (RCS). This is the highest level of subsidy payable under the Act for care recipients receiving residential care. This differs from the method of calculation for flexible care subsidy for care recipients receiving an Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) Package (RCS2).
The Department has consulted with the Minister’s Dementia Implementation Task Force in relation to the establishment of the EACH-Dementia Program. In addition, feedback from the National Dementia Research Workshop held in Melbourne on 29 August 2005, attended by 140 academics and researches was considered in developing the amendments to the Principles which provide the basis for this Determination. As EACH-Dementia is a new form of flexible care and the basic subsidy amount is equivalent to the highest rate of subsidy payable in respect of care recipients receiving high level residential care, it was not considered necessary to have specific consultations with the industry in relation to the level of subsidy payable under this Determination.
The Office of Regulation Review has advised that no Regulation Impact Statement is required (ORR ID Number 7703).
This Determination is a “legislative instrument” for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Consultation
As the indexation of this subsidy uses a well established formula for indexation, no specific consultation with industry was undertaken with respect of this instrument.