Consultancy firm KPMG have been awarded a $390,101 contract to work in collaboration with the Department of Health and Aged Care on “community engagement and consultation” in a redesign of the Star Ratings system for residential aged care.
The Department has released proposed changes to the Star Ratings system, and is now seeking feedback as part of the project.
There are two main changes proposed:
- The Compliance rating, which makes up 30% of the overall Star Rating, "must change due to the new regulatory model", the Consultation Paper states.
- From 1 October 2025 in the Staffing component, which makes up 22% of the overall Star Rating, aged care homes will have to meet both mandatory care minute targets overall and for RNs to receive a Staffing rating of 3 or more stars, according to the Consultation Paper.
The Department also revealed it is considering changing the design of the Staffing rating to include the 24/7 RN requirement.
"No improvement"
Dr Rodney Jilek, co-founder of innovative dementia care specialists Community Home Australia, identified problems with the Star Rating system at the beginning of the year. In August, he appeared on the ABC's 7.30 program saying homes failing to meet the Aged Care Quality and Safety Standards were still achieving 4 or 5 Stars.
"The proposed changes will make no improvement in transparency which was the main intent of the ratings in the first place," he told The SOURCE.
"The system will continue to misrepresent facilities that have failed to meet the basic minimum standards as acceptable.
"Until the Minister and Government agencies address this fundamental flaw, the system will never be fit for purpose."
Millions spent
According to a search of Austender, the Government's tender website, more than $13 million has been spent on contracts related to the Star Rating system to date, including:
- a $5.7 million contract with Accenture in 2022 for "development of Star Ratings";
- an $820,000 contract with PriceWaterHouseCoopers Consulting for a "Star Ratings communication campaign"; and
- $2.2 million with the University of Queensland for "development of Star Ratings for residential aged care".
In recent months, we have reported that Ogilvy Australia was awarded a $657,000 contract to 'create services for Star Ratings' and the Department of Health and Aged Care granted a $2.6 million contract to Mediabrands, trading as Universal McCann, to purchase media placements 'for Star Ratings'.
Earlier this month, the Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson issued a 'Public Statement' claiming Star Ratings are not "sufficiently meaningful" to help people make informed decisions about aged care services.
The latest round of consultation closes on 13 December 2024. You can read the Consultation Paper here.
