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 Respite 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 44-12(3) of the Act provides that the Minister may determine, by legislative instrument, the amount of the respite supplement.
The respite supplement is an additional daily amount that is paid to residential care services for each eligible care recipient being provided with respite care through the service on that day. All care recipients who meet the requirements of subsection 44-12(2) of the Act are eligible for the respite supplement.
The purpose of the Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Respite Supplement) Determination 2012 (No. 1) ‘the Determination’ is to set the amount of respite supplement with effect from 20 March 2012. This Determination also revokes Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Respite Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 2).
The difference between the Determinations is that the amount of respite 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.
Further details of the Determination are attached.
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.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Respite Supplement)
Determination 2012 (No. 1)
Part 1 – Preliminary
1 Name of Determination
Section 1 provides that the title of the Determination is the Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Respite Supplement) Determination 2012 (No. 1)
2 Commencement
Section 2 states that the Determination commences on 20 March 2012.
3 Revocation
Section 3 revokes the previous determination Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Respite Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 2).
4 Definitions
Section 4 provides definitions for words and terms used in this Determination.
5 Interpretation
Section 5 provides for the interpretation of references to ‘Respite Care – Low Level’ and ‘Respite Care – High Level’ within this Determination.
Part 2 – Amount of respite supplement – ‘Respite Care – Low Level’ care recipient classification
6 Application of Part 2
Section 6 states that Part 2 applies to a care recipient receiving ‘Respite Care – Low Level’ care:
- who has not exceeded the maximum amount of days permitted for respite care in the relevant financial year (as set out in section 21.18 of the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997); or
- whose residential care service has not provided a greater proportion of care as respite care than is provided for in any conditions attached to the allocation of places for that service.
7 Amount of respite supplement for care recipient – certified residential care service
Section 7 specifies the amount of respite supplement for a day for a ‘Respite Care – Low Level’ care recipient who receives their care through a certified residential care service. The amount has been increased using a well established formula based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers.
8 Amount of respite supplement for care recipient – residential care service that is not a certified residential care service
Section 8 specifies the amount of respite supplement for a day for a ‘Respite Care – Low Level’ care recipient who receives their care through a residential care service that is not certified. The amount has been increased using a well established formula based on the CPI as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers.
Part 3 – Amount of respite supplement – ‘Respite Care – High Level’ care recipient classification
9 Application of Part 3
Section 9 states that Part 3 applies to a care recipient receiving ‘Respite Care – High Level’ care:
- who has not exceeded the maximum amount of days permitted for respite care in the relevant financial year (as set out in section 21.18 of the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997); or
- whose residential care service has not provided a greater proportion of care as respite care than is provided for in any conditions attached to the allocation of places for that service.
10 Amount of respite supplement for care recipient – certified residential care service
Section 10 specifies the amounts of respite supplement for a day for a ‘Respite Care – High Level’ care recipient who receives their care through a certified residential care service, including an additional respite supplement which may be payable to eligible providers (see Schedule 1). The amounts have been increased using a well established formula based on the CPI as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers.
11 Amount of respite supplement for care recipient – residential care service that is not a certified residential care service
Section 11 specifies the amounts of respite supplement for a day for a ‘Respite Care – High Level’ care recipient who receives their care through a residential care service that is not certified, including an additional respite supplement which may be payable to eligible providers (see Schedule 1). The amounts have been increased using a well established formula based on the CPI as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers.
Part 4 – Amount of respite supplement – number of days or proportion of specified care exceeded
12 Amount of respite supplement for care recipient – maximum number of days exceeded
Section 12 specifies that the amount of respite supplement is nil if the maximum number of days on which the care recipient has been previously provided with respite care in the financial year has been exceeded.
13 Amount for respite supplement for care recipient – proportion of specified care exceeded
Section 13 specifies that the amount of respite supplement is nil if the residential care service has provided a greater proportion of respite care to care recipients than that specified in any conditions attached to the allocation of places to the approved provider of the residential care service.
Schedule 1 – Method Statements
Schedule 1 provides the averaging methodology for determining whether an approved provider is eligible to receive an additional amount for high care respite.
The averaging period will generally be the current claim month and the preceding 11 claim months. A provider is eligible for the additional rate of the high care respite amount if, on any given day, the average number of respite days provided over the previous 11 months and the current claim month is equal to or greater than 70 per cent of the average number of respite days required to be provided over that period of time under the provider’s conditions of allocation.
The averaging period takes into consideration the date respite care places are first allocated. Any increase or decrease in the level of allocation will be reflected in the averaging methodology from the date the increase or decrease takes effect. While the total number of places may fluctuate across the averaging period, the impact of any increase or decrease is gradual as it is spread out across the relevant period.
Respite bed days are not counted in the averaging period if they are provided:
- in excess of the level specified in the conditions of allocation relating to respite
- to non-eligible care recipients
- in excess of the maximum number of days per care recipient.
Part 1 of the Schedule establishes a component of the averaging methodology, namely the actual proportion of respite care provided to respite care recipients over the 12 months.
Part 2 of the Schedule establishes the second component of the averaging methodology, namely the calculation of the specified proportion of respite care the residential care service is to provide.
If the total figure reached using the methodology in Part 1 is greater than or equal to 70 per cent of the total figure reached using the methodology in Part 2, then the additional amount of respite supplement will be payable for any care recipient classed as ‘respite high’ and receiving respite care in that service on that day.