EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Allocation Amendment Principles 2011 (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 receiving care in allocated places.
Subsection 96-1(1) of the Act allows the Minister to make Principles providing for various matters required or permitted by a Part or section of the Act. Among the Principles made under subsection 96-1(1) are the Allocation Principles 1997 (the Allocation Principles) and the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 (the Residential Care Subsidy Principles).
The Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 2) insert section 21.5A specifying kinds of payment that are capital payments for the purposes of section 43-6 of the Act. The purpose of the Allocation Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 1) (the Amending Principles) is to make minor consequential amendments to align the information about capital payments that an approved provider must include in an application to transfer allocated places and the information about capital payments that the Secretary may give to the proposed transferee with the list of kinds of capital payments specified in the Residential Care Subsidy Principles for the purposes of section 43-6 of the Act.
The amendments made by the Amending Principles will assist the transferee to estimate the capital payment deductions that might be applied if, at any time after the transfer day, the transferee applies for and is granted extra service status in respect of the service, or a distinct part of the service, in which the places being transferred are included.
Further details on the Amending Principles are attached.
The Amending Principles are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
As the amendments in these Amending Principles are machinery and minor in nature, no specific consultation was undertaken in relation to this instrument.
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ATTACHMENT
Details of the Allocation Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 1)
Clause 1 – Name of Principles
Clause 1 states that the name of the Amending Principles is the Allocation Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 1).
Clause 2 – Commencement
Clause 2 states that the Principles commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Clause 3 – Amendment of User Rights Principles
Clause 3 states that Schedule 1 amends the Allocation Principles 1997.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Item 1
This item inserts paragraph 4.61(i) which specifies that the transferor must include in an application to transfer allocated places information about whether any capital payments of a kind specified in the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 for the purposes of section 43-6 of the Act have been made in respect of the aged care service in which the places being transferred are included.
Item 2
This item substitutes paragraph 4.65(f) which specifies that the Secretary may give the transferee information about matters relating to any capital payments of a kind specified in the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 for the purposes of section 43-6 of the Act that have been made in respect of the aged care service in which the places being transferred are included.