EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of transitional supplement)
Determination 2008 (No. 2)
(ACA.Ch. 3 No. 27/2008)
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 44-16(1) of the Act provides that the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 (the Principles) may provide for additional primary supplements. Section 21.25C of the Principles provides for the transitional supplement.
An aged care service is eligible for the payment of transitional supplement for each day in the payment period when residential care (other than respite care) is provided to:
- a care recipient who, after 30 September 1997, entered a residential care service that was not certified on the day the care recipient entered the service; or
- a person who:
- on 30 September 1997 occupied a hostel place or a nursing home bed; and
- after that date continued to receive residential care from the service; and
- has been classified under Part 2.4 of the Act.
Subsection 44-16(3) of the Act provides that the Minister may determine, by legislative instrument, the amount of each additional primary supplements or the way in which the amount of the supplement is to be worked out.
The Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of transitional supplement) Determination 2008 (No. 2) (the Determination) sets the transitional supplement rate at $18.23 with effect from 20 September 2008. This is equivalent to the concessional resident supplement for services where more than 40% of the new residents to whom the service provides residential care (other than respite care) are supported, concessional or assisted residents. The transitional supplement is indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year in line with the indexation arrangements for the accommodation supplement.
The Determination revokes and replaces the Aged Care (Residential care subsidy – amount of transitional supplement) Determination 2008 (the previous Determination).
The Determination contains a minor change to the previous Determination in that the amount of the transitional supplement for each day in the payment period is increased from $17.73 to $18.23.
This Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Consultation
As the indexation of this supplement uses a well established formula for indexation, no specific consultation with industry was undertaken with respect to this instrument.