EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Transition Care Services) Determination 2011 (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.
Transition care is a form of flexible care in respect of which flexible care subsidy is payable. Transition care provides older people with therapeutic care and support to improve their independence and confidence after a hospital stay (for a period of up to 12 weeks, which may be extended up to a further six weeks).
Subsection 52-1(1) of the Aged Care Act 1997 (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 – Transition Care Services) Determination 2011 (No. 1) (the Determination) is to set the amount of flexible care subsidy that is payable for flexible care in the form of transition care for each day that an approved provider’s flexible care place is occupied by a care recipient who is approved to receive, and is provided with, transition care on that day, with rates effective 1 July 2011. This amount depends on the state or territory in which the Flexible Care Service is located. This Determination also revokes Aged Care (Amount of Flexible Care Subsidy – Transition Care Services) Determination 2010 (No. 1).
For 2011-12, the eight subsidy rates for transition care are based on previous years’ subsidy rates and are subject to two variables; that is, indexation and the anticipated roll out of new fully funded transition care places across the states and territories.
From 1 July 2012 when all transition care places are fully operational, there will be a single national rate for transition care.
Consultation
For 2011-12, 651 additional transition care places were agreed to be rolled out, following
consultation with the cross-jurisdictional Transition Care Working Group.
Indexation of the subsidy uses a well established formula based on the Consumer Price Index 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 in 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 2011.
The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.