The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) has told Senate Estimates that it has already received feedback from a broad range of aged care providers about the proposed minimum liquidity requirements, which are open to consultation until 7 March.
As we have reported, the Liquidity Standard under the new Financial and Prudential Standards will require residential care operators to hold onto 35% of cash expenses for the previous quarter plus 10% of refundable deposit liabilities as of the end of the previous quarter for providers with refundable deposits.
Aged care providers who also operate independent living units (ILUs) and retirement villages will also have to retain 10% of ILU and retirement village refundable amounts, a move that has turned heads.
"I've had some robust feedback", the new Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Liz Hefren-Webb told Senate Estimates on Wednesday.
During the hearing, Senator Anne Ruston, Shadow Minister for Aged Care, expressed concerns the ratios would prevent aged care providers from building much-needed new aged care beds.
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Peter Edwards, Acting Deputy Commissioner ACQSC, maintained the regulator had consulted broadly when developing the liquidity ratios, including with the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN), Council on the Ageing (COTA), Ageing Australia, McGrathNicol, StewartBrown, and the Aged Care Workforce Remote Accord.
He said the ACQSC also sought actuarial advice, although banks were not included in the consultations, adding since the ratios were released, the ACQSC has been consulting with providers.
"We've been in quite close contact with providers, particularly those that have related party arrangements, who think the liquidity threshold might be problematic, and we think that most of those issues will be able to be resolved," he said.
"We expect that we'll be able to land a position [on the final ratios] within the next few weeks."
