Royal Commission to be established to look at Australia’s aged care sector – what might providers expect?
In a joint statement with the Health Minister Greg Hunt and the Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the Government has made a decision to establish a Royal Commission into the Aged Care Sector. The announcement recognised that there are ‘thousands of extraordinary operators, facilities, care providers, nursing and other […]
ReadmoreAre you ready to support clients to plan ahead for their end of life care?
Advance Care Planning Advanced Care Directives (ACD) when considered in the broader context of advanced care planning allow people to plan ahead and document their preferences regarding their end of life care, to live well and to die well with dignity in accordance with their values and preferences. Advance care planning has benefits for the […]
ReadmoreUnannounced re-accreditation visits, reports and responses
What has changed? Following the release of the independent review of the National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Processes on 25 October 2017, the Minister announced that the Government would be replacing the announced re-accreditation audits with unannounced audits. Who do the changes apply to? The changes apply to residential aged care services applying for re-accreditation […]
ReadmoreFederal Court determines that Asset Replacement Charges and Capital Refurbishment Fees are prohibited under the Aged Care Act 1997
The recent Federal Court decision of Regis Aged Care Pty Ltd v Secretary, Department of Health [2018] FCA 177 (Regis Case) examined whether capital refurbishment fees could be lawfully charged without breaching a providers’ obligations under the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act). Background Since 1 May 2016 all residents entering Regis aged care […]
ReadmoreVoluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 passed though the Victorian Legislative Assembly on 29 November 2017. The law will go through an 18 month period of implementation before individuals can request access to voluntary assisted dying. However now is the time to start to consider how this legislation will impact on your organisation as a […]
ReadmoreReport on the review of the National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Process – what does it recommend and what may it mean for aged care providers?
The National Aged Care Quality Regulatory process underwent a review which examined Australia’s current aged care regulatory system against best practice regulatory principles and included an international comparison of how Australia’s aged care regulatory system is performing. The Report concluded that the Australian system, whilst complex, it aligned well with some of the best practice […]
ReadmoreData breaches by aged care providers – complying with the Mandatory Data Breach Scheme
Aged care providers will be subject to the Notifiable Data Breach scheme which requires organisations, including residential and home care providers, to mandatorily report eligible data breaches to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner begins on 22 February 2018. An eligible data breach will occur if: there is unauthorised access to, unauthorised disclosure of, […]
ReadmoreIncrease in preventable deaths in aged care
A study conducted by Monash University and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine has revealed an alarming rise in the number of premature and potentially preventable deaths occurring in Australian nursing homes over the past decade1 . The study The study, led by Professor Joseph Ibrahim, head of the Health Law and Ageing Research […]
ReadmoreDon’t throw good money after bad
We are noticing a marked increase in the number of outstanding debts to aged care providers with residents or their representatives not paying the agreed fees and charges. What is becoming increasingly evident is that the outstanding amounts accrued, at the time we are notified, can be in the tens if not hundreds of thousands […]
ReadmoreIntroduction of new home care agreements to comply with legislative commencing 27 February 2017
We are pleased to announce that we are rolling out a new Home Care Agreement in anticipation of the legislative amendments to home care which will commence on 27 February 2017. In broad terms, the reforms to home care will see greater flexibility given to the consumer to move between home care providers. Further, there […]
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