Home Care Reform

Latest data from the Federal Government shows the national queue for Home Care Packages at the appropriate level stands at 112,237, down from 119,524 in the previous quarter.

The data shows nearly 135,000 older Australians have access to home care, follows an additional $537 million funding package announced in November 2019 in response to the Royal Commission Interim Report. This package which included $500 million for an additional 10,000 home care packages.

While the extra packages are welcome, more than 112,000 Australians are still waiting for a package at their approved level. Waiting times in many locations are still more than 12 months and, in some cases, over 24 months.

Background

The Federal Government introduced the Increasing Choice in Home Care (ICHC) reforms in February 2017. Since implementation, LASA has provided robust and independent advocacy on behalf of the sector.

You can view a LASA webinar on future home care reforms below:

LASA Home Care Information Series

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 1 – My Aged Care National Prioritisation Process

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 2 – Home Package Levels

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 3– Unspent Home Care Amounts & Exit Amounts

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 4 – Top Tips: Regulation Focus

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 5 – Frequently Asked Questions

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 6 – Summary of the Home Care Changes

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 7 – Updated Summary of the Home Care Changes

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 8 – Updated Information

Home Care Reforms Info Series – Issue 9 – Update

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 10 – Package upgrades

Home Care Reforms Info Series  Issue 11 – Multiple NAPS ID Services

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 12 – LASA’s MAC Provider Survey and Liaison with the DoH

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 13 – LASA’s MAC Provider Survey Final Report

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 14 – Consumer Choice and Home Care Package Budget Expenditure

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 15 – Home Care Package Activations

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 16 – NACA Discussion Paper / ACFA Annual Report

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 17 – Income Tested Fees / ITF’s / Home Care Packages Data Report

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 18 – Combining or Transferring Services / Incorrect Package Withdrawals

Home Care Reforms Info Series Issue 19 – LASA’s Second Home Care Provider Report

Overview of Home Care Changes

Federal Parliament passed the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Act 2016 in March 2016, which resulted in amendments to existing Principles and Determinations and the introduction of new Legislative Instruments to support the Act. The four new Legislative Instruments are:

• Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Principles 2016
• Prioritised Home Care Recipients Principles 2016
• Aged Care (Subsidy, Fees and Payments) Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Determination 2016
• Aged Care (Transitional Provision) (Subsidy and Other Measures) Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Determination 2016

The first part of these changes saw the introduction of three major changes to the delivery of home care:

• the Home Care Package funding following the consumer.
• one national prioritisation system for people waiting for a Home Care Package (a national queue) supported by a National Package Inventory, which will identify all used and unused packages.
• improvements to the process for organisations to become an Approved Provider.

Department of Health Resources

The Department of Health released several resources to help people understand the key changes, including factsheets and webinars. This information is available via the Department’s website. Webinars available on demand via the Department’s website include:

• Increasing Choice in Home Care – Operational Readiness
• Increasing Choice in Home Care – My Aged Care Service Finder functionality
• Increasing Choice in Home Care – Changing Providers and Unspent Funds

The Department also released the following factsheets for providers and consumers:

Consumer Factsheets Topics Covered

Other resources available on the Department’s website include:

• Overview of the legislative framework for Increasing Choice
• Step-by-step example of calculating unspent home care amounts
• New data fields in the Home Care Package service finder from 27 February 2017.