EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of accommodation supplement) Determination 2009 (No. 1)
(ACA Ch. 3 No. 2/2009)
The Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act) provides for the funding of aged care services. Persons who are approved under the Act to provide residential aged care services (approved providers) can be eligible to receive residential care subsidy payments in respect of the care they provide to approved care recipients.
Subsection 44-5A(3) of the Act provides that the accommodation supplement for a particular 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 accommodation supplement is payable in respect of supported residents receiving care in eligible services (for example services that are certified and are not providing care to the resident on an extra service basis).
In summary, supported residents are those who are being provided with residential care through a residential care service, who entered care on or after 20 March 2008 and whose assets are below a certain maximum asset threshold or in respect of whom the Secretary has made a financial hardship determination.
This Determination sets out a method for working out the amount of the accommodation supplement.
This Determination revokes the previously made Determination. The key difference between this Determination and the previous Determination is that the maximum rate of accommodation supplement for a service that does not meet building requirements has been increased from $25.06 to $25.28 in accordance with increases in the consumer price index published by the Australian Statistician.
This Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Consultation
The Department of Health and Ageing (the Department) undertook extensive consultation on the policy, which included policy on increases in the rates of supplements, that was implemented through the Aged Care Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Act 2008 and related amendments to the Principles and other instruments made under the Act.
Further consultation was undertaken by the Department on aged care funding arrangements as part of the Review of the Conditional Adjustment Payment and there is ongoing consultation with the aged care industry on funding arrangements.
As the indexation of the supplement uses a well established formula based on the consumer price index, and is in accordance with policy upon which extensive consultation was undertaken, no specific consultation was undertaken with respect to this instrument.
Information about the increase in the amount of the supplement will be sent to all approved providers by facsimile and will be available to the public on the Department’s website.
Overview
The Aged Care Act 1997 was enacted to provide for the funding of aged care services, ensuring that approved providers could receive residential care subsidy payments for the care they offer to approved care recipients. The Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of accommodation supplement) Determination 2009 (No. 1) was introduced to address the need for a clear method of calculating the accommodation supplement for supported residents in residential care services, ensuring consistency and fairness in the subsidy payments. This determination, made under the authority of the Minister for Ageing, sets out a method for determining the amount of the accommodation supplement, revoking the previous determination and increasing the maximum rate of the supplement to reflect changes in the consumer price index. The policy objective of this determination was to ensure that the accommodation supplement accurately reflects cost changes and maintains adequate funding for residential care services, as established through extensive consultation with stakeholders and in line with the legislative framework of the Aged Care Act 1997.
Scope and Application
The Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of accommodation supplement) Determination 2009 applies to approved providers who are authorised to deliver residential aged care services under the Aged Care Act 1997. These approved providers can be eligible for residential care subsidy payments for the care they provide to approved care recipients. The determination sets forth a method to calculate the accommodation supplement, which is payable to supported residents receiving care in certified services, excluding those that provide care on an extra service basis. Supported residents include those who have entered care on or after 20 March 2008, have assets below a specified threshold, or have had a financial hardship determination made by the Secretary. This Determination, a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, revokes the previous Determination and adjusts the maximum rate of accommodation supplement for services not meeting building requirements, increasing it to $25.28 in line with the consumer price index. The increase in the supplement's amount is communicated to all approved providers and made publicly available on the Department's website.
Key Provisions
The Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of accommodation supplement) Determination 2009 (No. 1) (the Determination) is a legislative instrument that specifies the method for calculating the accommodation supplement for residential aged care services under the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act). This supplement is an additional payment made to approved providers who deliver residential care to eligible recipients (subsection 44-5A(3)). Eligible recipients include those who have entered care on or after 20 March 2008 and meet certain asset criteria or have had a financial hardship determination made by the Secretary.
The Determination outlines that the accommodation supplement is applicable to supported residents who receive care in certified services that do not provide extra services to the resident. The key amendment introduced by this Determination is the increase in the maximum rate of accommodation supplement for services that do not meet building requirements, from $25.06 to $25.28, reflecting increases in the consumer price index. This change was implemented to ensure that the supplement keeps pace with inflation, maintaining the value of the subsidy.
Approved providers, who are entities approved under the Act to provide residential aged care services, are required to adhere to the provisions set out in this Determination when applying for or receiving the accommodation supplement. These providers must ensure they meet the criteria for eligibility, such as the type of services provided and the status of the residents they care for. The Determination mandates that the supplement be calculated according to the specified method and that it be applied correctly in accordance with the Act.
Failure to comply with the requirements set out in the Determination may result in penalties or other consequences under the Act. Although the specific penalties are not detailed in the Determination, breaches of the Act can generally lead to fines or other administrative actions. The exact penalties would depend on the nature and severity of the breach, as outlined in other sections of the Act and related legislation. Information regarding the supplement and its calculation will be disseminated to all approved providers and made publicly available on the Department’s website.