EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued under the authority of the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2012 (No. 1)
The Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) provides for the regulation and funding of aged care services. Persons who are approved under the Act to provide flexible aged care services can be eligible to receive flexible care subsidy payments in respect of the care they provide to approved care recipients.
Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) is a flexible care program in respect of which flexible care subsidy is payable. EACH provides nursing and personal care services to an aged care recipient in the care recipient’s home where the care recipient would otherwise be eligible for high level residential care.
Subsection 52-1(1) of the Act provides that the amount of flexible care subsidy that is payable in respect of a day is the amount determined by the Minister by legislative instrument or worked out in accordance with a method determined by the Minister by legislative instrument.
The purpose of the Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2012 (No. 1) (the Determination) is to specify the method for working out the amount of flexible care subsidy for a day in respect of an EACH care recipient, with rates effective from 1 July 2012. This Determination also revokes Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2011 (No. 1).
The difference between the Determinations is that the daily amount of flexible care subsidy payable for an EACH care recipient has been increased in accordance with increases in the consumer price index (CPI) as a measure of movements in the non-labour costs of providers and the decisions of Fair Work Australia as a measure of non-productivity based movements of the wage costs of providers. This Determination also provides some additional funding available under the 2010-11 Budget measure ‘National Health and Hospitals Network – Aged Care – improving the viability of community care providers’. Under this initiative, a total of $10.1 million over four years is provided to increase the viability supplement paid to eligible community aged care providers in rural and remote areas, including eligible EACH providers.
The total amount of flexible care subsidy payable in respect of an EACH care recipient is the sum of the following four amounts as set out in the Determination:
the base amount of flexible care subsidy payable for a day for a care recipient receiving flexible care in the form of EACH
any oxygen supplement that would have been payable in respect of the EACH care recipient if he or she was receiving residential care
any enteral feeding supplement that would have been payable in respect of the EACH care recipient if he or she was receiving residential care
an additional daily amount payable to an approved provider who provides EACH to a care recipient in a rural or remote location, provided that location has an Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) score of 3.52 or more. The additional daily amount increases as the ARIA score (the measure of accessibility and remoteness of the geographical location at which the care recipient resides) increases.
Under the ARIA, each suburb and town in Australia is allocated an ARIA score based on its accessibility and remoteness. ARIA scores for all Australian locations are contained in the document entitled Viability Funding — ARIA scores for locations as at 30 July 1999, published by the Department of Health and Ageing.
Consultation
With regard to the 2010-11 Budget measure ‘National Health and Hospitals Network – Aged Care – improving the viability of community care providers, the need for increased support for rural and remote community aged care providers emerged from the Government’s consultations on the National Health and Hospitals Network. As the increase to the viability supplement paid to eligible community aged care providers is in accordance with this Budget measure, no specific consultation was undertaken with respect to this increase.
Indexation of the subsidy uses a well established formula based on the CPI as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers and the decisions of Fair Work Australia as a measure of non-productivity based movements of the wage costs of providers. As this is in accordance with policy upon which extensive consultation was undertaken, no specific consultation was undertaken with respect to this indexation.
Information about the increase in the amount of the subsidy will be disseminated via electronic media to approved providers.
This Determination commences on 1 July 2012.
The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2012 (No. 1)
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The purpose of the Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2012 (No. 1) (the Determination) is to specify the method for working out the amount of flexible care subsidy for a day in respect of an EACH care recipient, with rates effective from 1 July 2012. This Determination also revokes Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Extended Aged Care at Home) Determination 2011 (No. 1).
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Mark Butler
Minister for Mental Health and Ageing