EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 6)
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 can be eligible to receive residential care subsidy payments in respect of the care they provide to approved care recipients.
In the 2005 Budget, the Australian Government announced a Residential Respite Funding Boost as a component of the Recognising Senior Australians: Their Needs and Their Carers Budget Measure. The Funding Boost is intended to “encourage and reward” aged care homes which make respite bed days available for high level recipients, and to increase high care respite availability where there is greatest demand. This Measure delivers on the Australian Government’s election commitment Recognising Senior Australians – Their Needs and Their Carers: Caring for Carers.
The Budget Measure states that the Australian Government will:
‘provide an extra $28 per respite resident per day to aged care providers who dedicate at least 70 per cent of their respite allocations (sic) for respite care’.
These amendments are part of a package of measures to implement this Budget Measure.
Subsection 96-1(1) of the Act allows the Minister to make Principles providing for matters required or permitted by a Part or section of the Act to be provided, or necessary or convenient to be provided, in order to carry out or give effect to that Part or section.
The Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 (“the Subsidy Principles”) are one of several sets of Principles which have been made under the Act. The Subsidy Principles deal with the eligibility for the subsidy, how it is paid and what amount is paid. Part 7 of the Subsidy Principles specifies requirements that must be met for a care recipient to be eligible for the respite supplement. These include the maximum number of days for which a care recipient may be provided with respite care during the financial year and other matters on which the Minister’s determination of different amounts may be based.
The Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 6) amend section 21.19 of Part 7 of the Subsidy Principles to specify that the Minister’s determination of different amounts of the respite supplement may be based upon the proportion of care provided by the residential care service to recipients of respite care, where that proportion is “less than” that specified in the conditions of allocation.
This amendment will provide the Minister with the authority to make a new Determination under section 44-12 of the Act. In line with the Budget announcement, the new Determination will provide for the additional $28 of respite supplement to be payable in respect of high care respite where a provider provides more than 70% of the amount of respite they are required to provide.
Amendments to the Allocation Principles 1997 contained in the Allocation Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 1) are the third part of this package. The Allocation Principles deal with a number of aspects of the allocation of places to an approved provider through which aged care is provided. Part 8 of the Allocation Principles deals with variations of conditions of places, and Division 2 of Part 8 specifies the matters that the Secretary must take into account in deciding whether any proposals in respect of places being relinquished, are satisfactory. The Allocation Amendment Principles 2005 (No.1) amend section 4.70 of Part 8 of the Allocation Principles to provide an additional matter for the Secretary to consider in deciding whether the variation of conditions of an allocation is justified in the circumstances. The additional matter will be the extent to which current and future care recipients in the region will have access to respite care, so that overall levels of respite within a region are not reduced.
The Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 6) should be read alongside the amendments to the Allocation Principles and the new Determination under section 44-12 of the Act.
The Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 6) will come into force on 1 January 2006.
Industry has been consulted in December 2005 through the Aged Care Advisory Committee (ACAC). ACAC greatly welcomed the Budget Measure, in recognition of the need for increased residential respite which will be achieved through the new payment. Industry is supportive of the implementation approach and payment methodology which are expressed through this package of legislative amendments.
The Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 6) are a “legislative instrument” for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Details of the Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2005 (No. 6) are set out in the Attachment.
ATTACHMENT
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clauses 1 and 2 set out the title of the Amending Principles and their commencement
date (1 January 2006).
Clause 3 amends the Residential Care Subsidy Principles according to the Schedule.
Item 1 of the Schedule provides for amendments to paragraph 21.19(a). The word “greater” will be omitted and the words “greater or lesser” will be inserted.
This will allow the Minister to determine different amounts of respite supplement based on the extent to which the approved provider has provided care to recipients of respite care as a proportion of the conditions of allocation attached to the places allocated to that service in relation to respite care.