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 Transitional Supplement)
Determination 2011 (No. 2)
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 44-16(1) of the Act provides that the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 (the Principles) may provide for additional primary supplements.
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.
Section 21.25C of the Principles provides for the transitional supplement which is a type of additional primary supplement. This section also sets out the circumstances in which transitional supplement is payable, including that it does not apply to post-2008 reform residents.
The purpose of the transitional supplement is to compensate aged care services in relation to care recipients who could not pay an accommodation bond or accommodation charge as the residential care service they entered was uncertified at the time they entered care, or where the care recipient entered care prior to the commencement of the Aged Care Act 1997.
The purpose of the Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Transitional Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 2) ‘the Determination’ is to set the amount of the transitional supplement with effect from 20 September 2011. This Determination also revokes Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Transitional Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 1).
The difference between the Determinations is that the amount of transitional 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.
Further details on 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 September 2011.
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 Transitional Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 2)
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 Transitional Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 2).
2 Commencement
Section 2 states that the Determination commences on 20 September 2011.
3 Revocation of the previous determination
Section 3 revokes the previous determination Aged Care (Residential Care Subsidy – Amount of Transitional Supplement) Determination 2011 (No. 1).
4 Definitions
Section 4 provides definitions for words and terms used in this Determination.
5 Amount of transitional supplement
Section 5 provides the amount of transitional supplement payable which has been increased using a well established formula based on Consumer Price Index as a measure of the movements in the non-labour costs of providers.