EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Ageing
Aged Care Act 1997
Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 3)
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 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 Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997 (the Residential Care Subsidy Principles).
The purpose of the Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2011 (No.3) (the Amending Principles) is to modify for the purposes of section 44-29 of the Act the method for assessing whether viability supplement should be paid in respect of residents at a residential care service. The criteria for viability supplement include the size of the service and the size of the population that it serves; the degree of isolation of the service’s location; and other matters specified in the Residential Care Subsidy Principles. The other matter currently included under the Residential Care Subsidy Principles is whether more than 50% of care recipients are people with special needs, other than people with special needs only because they live in rural or remote areas or they are financially or socially disadvantaged.
The amount of viability supplement paid to all eligible providers will continue to take into account the location of the service, the number of occupied places, and whether the majority of care recipients have special needs, other than people with special needs only because they live in rural or remote areas or they are financially or socially disadvantaged.
However, amendments to the tables in Part 14 of the Residential Care Subsidy Principles will expand current viability supplement arrangements to provide additional support for residential care services which specialise in providing low care in rural and remote areas, or which care for homeless people or Indigenous Australians with complex behavioural needs. This expansion was announced as a major activity under the Department Outcomes for Program 4.6 (Residential Care) as part of the 2011-12 Budget. The announcement stated that the additional support would commence from 1 July 2011.
The measure also responds to the findings of the Review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI), which suggests that these provider groups are likely to face greater pressures in transitioning to the ACFI which was introduced on 20 March 2008.
To meet the timetable announced in the Budget, the measures will commence retrospectively on 1 July 2011.
Subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 provides that if a legislative instrument is expressed to take effect from a time before it is registered, but the instrument would adversely affect the rights of, or impose liabilities on, a person at a time before the instrument is registered, the instrument has no such effect in relation to the period before the instrument is registered.
The retrospective commencement of the Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2011 (No.3) does not contravene subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, because it increases viability supplement payments for some existing providers and extends new funding for some providers which will be paid from date of eligibility. As a result, retrospective application of these provisions does not impose any disadvantage on any person other than the Commonwealth.
Further details on the Amending Principles are attached.
The Amending Principles are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Consultation
The Review of the ACFI was undertaken in close consultation with a range of stakeholders in the aged care sector including consumers, unions and industry groups. Incorporated in the consultation process was a call for public submissions to which 98 responses were received from a range of individuals and interested parties.
Information about the extension of the viability supplement will be disseminated via print and electronic media to approved providers.
ATTACHMENT
Details of the Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 3)
Clause 1 states that the name of the Amending Principles is the Residential Care Subsidy Amendment Principles 2011 (No. 3).
Clause 2 states that the Principles commence retrospectively on 1 July 2011.
Clause 3 states that Schedule 1 amends the Residential Care Subsidy Principles 1997.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Item 1 replaces existing section 21.35C with a new section expanding the criteria for a 2005 scheme service to include criteria relating to homelessness and/or Indigenous related care needs, and targeting low care needs in specified locations. Subsection (1) provides for a viability supplement points calculator to enable calculation of the number of points applicable to a residential care service in respect of its location, if it is in a more remote location, whether it provides a low level of care to the majority of residents and whether it targets care for homeless people, people from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, or both. Subsection (3) provides the method for determining the points scored for the location of the service. Subsection (4) provides the method for determining whether a service targets care for homeless people, people from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community or both. It also provides that if a service targets these groups, it will score 60 points under step 3 of the Viability supplement points calculator. Residential care services can score a maximum of 65 points for these first three steps. Additional points may be added under step 5 if the service has fewer than 45 places. In line with the approach in Item 2 of the table in the current subsection 21.35C(1), subsection (5) provides that the smaller the service, the more points it will score. A further 5 points may be added under step 6 if the majority of care recipients at the service are people with special needs, other than people with special needs only because they live in rural or remote areas or they are financially or socially disadvantaged.
Subsection (2) provides definitions for the purposes of the section. These are the same as the definitions given by the current subsection 21.35C(2), except that a definition for “low level of residential care” has been inserted. This definition references the definition in section 9.3 of the Classification Principles 1997.
Item 2 inserts a new Schedule (Schedule 2 Appraisal procedures for targeting care for homeless people or people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities) to the Residential Care Subsidy Principles. This Schedule contains the assessment tools for assessing whether a care recipient demonstrates complex behavioural needs and social disadvantage associated with their background as a homeless person or their background as a person from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community.