ACCPA has welcomed the passage through Parliament today of the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022.
ACCPA Interim CEO Paul Sadler said the introduction of the residential care funding model, the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) and the establishment of the Independent Pricing Authority, are both positive steps forward in the delivery of real aged care reform.
“However, the government’s promise of a 10 per cent increase in funding with the introduction of AN-ACC glosses over the fact that all of that additional funding will go towards hiring extra staff in order to meet the requirement for 200 minutes of care per resident per day by October 2023,” Mr Sadler said.
“This brings us back to the issue of funding and the need for a sustainable funding model for aged care into the future.”
ACCPA also supported in-principle the delivery of the Government’s election commitments through the Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to scrutinise these measures in a Senate committee hearing later this month and the need to account for staff shortages when introducing the requirement of RNs 24/7 across Australia and the impact of home care pricing changes on consumers and providers,” Mr Sadler said.
“We are keen to work with the government to try to resolve the funding pressures affecting aged services providers ahead of the October budget as well as staffing shortages, and the need for greater transparency.”
Mr Sadler said ACCPA also welcomed the inclusion of aged care in the Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme announced by the government today.
“This will help to ease some of the pressure on providers who have been experiencing acute staff shortages throughout the pandemic,” Mr Sadler said.
