EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Concessional Resident Supplement) 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 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 44-6(4) of the Act provides that the Minister may determine, by legislative instrument, the amount of the concessional resident supplement.
The concessional resident supplement is a daily amount that is paid to residential care services in respect of each concessional resident and assisted resident occupying a place in the service.
A concessional resident is a person who is a pre-2008 reform resident and who is considered unable to afford to pay an accommodation bond or an accommodation charge or otherwise meets the requirements of section 44‑7 of the Act. An assisted resident is a person who is a pre-2008 reform resident and who can only afford to pay a small accommodation bond or a small accommodation charge or otherwise meets the requirements of section 44-8 of the Act.
The purpose of the Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Concessional Resident Supplement) Determination 2012 (No. 1) ‘the Determination’ is to set the concessional resident supplement rate for concessional and assisted residents with effect from 20 March 2012. This Determination also revokes Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Concessional Resident Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 2).
The difference between the Determinations is that the amount of concessional resident supplement for a day has been indexed, using a well established formula based on the Consumer Price Index as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
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 and does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Consultation
The Department of Health and Ageing 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 instruments. As the same basis is used currently for indexation, no further consultation has been undertaken with respect to this instrument.
Information about the increase in the amount of the supplement will be disseminated via electronic media to approved providers.
This Determination commences on 20 March 2012.
The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Overview
The Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Concessional Resident Supplement) Determination 2012 (No. 1) was enacted to set the concessional resident supplement rate for concessional and assisted residential care residents as of 20 March 2012. This determination was introduced under the Aged Care Act 1997 to address the need for regular updates to the residential care subsidy payments, ensuring that they reflect the actual costs faced by residential aged care providers. The determination was issued by the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, following the authority granted under subsection 44-6(4) of the Act, which allows for the determination of the concessional resident supplement amount via legislative instrument. The policy objective is to maintain the affordability and sustainability of residential aged care services by indexing the supplement amount according to a formula based on the Consumer Price Index, thus aligning with the broader policy framework established by the Aged Care Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Act 2008.
Scope and Application
The Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Concessional Resident Supplement) Determination 2012 (No. 1) applies to approved providers of residential aged care services under the Aged Care Act 1997. These providers, who are authorised to offer residential aged care to approved care recipients, may receive residential care subsidy payments, including the concessional resident supplement, for the services they provide. This supplement is intended for concessional and assisted residents who are pre-2008 reform residents and have specific financial limitations, as outlined in sections 44-7 and 44-8 of the Act. The Determination sets the rate for this supplement and replaces the 2011 version, reflecting an indexing based on the Consumer Price Index to account for changes in non-labour costs for providers. The Determination has national application within Australia and is a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Key Provisions
The Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Concessional Resident Supplement) Determination 2012 (No. 1) sets out the amount of the concessional resident supplement for residential aged care services, which applies from 20 March 2012 (section 3). This Determination effectively replaces the 2011 version, reflecting the indexed increase in the supplement amount (section 4). The supplement is a daily amount paid to residential care services for each concessional resident and assisted resident. A concessional resident is someone who was a resident before the 2008 reforms and cannot afford to pay an accommodation bond or charge, or meets the criteria in section 44-7 of the Act (section 1). An assisted resident, similarly, is a pre-2008 reform resident who can only afford to pay a small accommodation bond or charge, or meets the criteria in section 44-8 of the Act (section 1).
Approved providers who deliver residential aged care services to concessional and assisted residents must adhere to the rates specified in this Determination when claiming residential care subsidy payments (section 44-6(4)). These providers must ensure that they accurately account for the daily supplement amount in their financial records and claims. They must also maintain compliance with all other requirements of the Aged Care Act 1997, including those related to the quality of care provided to residents.
Breaches of the provisions in this Determination or the Aged Care Act 1997 could lead to a variety of civil and criminal consequences. For instance, providers found to be in non-compliance with the supplement rates could face financial penalties or be required to repay any overclaimed subsidy amounts. More serious breaches, such as fraudulent claims, could result in criminal charges under section 131.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995, which carries a maximum penalty of 10,000 penalty units for individuals and 50,000 penalty units for bodies corporate, reflecting the severity of the breach. The specific penalties for non-compliance with the Aged Care Act 1997 are detailed in section 134 of the Act, which outlines a range of fines and potential imprisonment terms depending on the nature and extent of the breach.