Submission: Australian Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Review of Aged Care Rules

AHPA responds to the Australian Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Review of Aged Care Rules, proposing reforms to various Rules so the reformed aged care system better meets older people's needs.

For example, current Rules mean that registered providers of allied health under the Support at Home program are not held accountable for most of Aged Care Quality Standard 5 (clinical care). As a result, no entity is responsible and accountable for the safety of clinical care services, cognitive impairment, and palliative and end-of-life care. Providers are expected to deliver multidisciplinary team care where appropriate, but there is no obligation under the Quality Standard, meaning older people may not get the comprehensive care they need.

Another example concerns the fee reduction supplement, which depends on an older person’s ‘essential expenses’. Under current Rules, an ‘essential expense’ is something that is not already ‘covered’ by another government scheme, program, or private health insurance. AHPA notes that these pathways often only provide a partial payment, leaving consumers considerably out of pocket. AHPA suggests amending the Rule so that only expenses fully paid for by other schemes are excluded.

Support at Home also applies a lifetime cap of $15,000 for home modifications funding. AHPA recommends allowing older people to accumulate this funding annually, so they can actually pay for home modification costs, and that Government analyse data on the average costs incurred by aged care consumers so funding amounts can be reset.