The Department of Health and Aged Care has listened to concerns about the tight timeframe to provide feedback on the Exposure Draft of the new Aged Care Act, and has extended the consultation period by three weeks.
"The original closing date for this consultation was 16 February 2024," the Department said on its website. "However, we heard that many people wanted more time to review the draft Act and provide their feedback on this important change to aged care.
"In response to this feedback, the Government has extended the consultation to 8 March 2024."
The news has been welcomed with relief by both aged care and retirement living providers.
"Really delighted that the Government has listened to feedback and granted more time to have your say on the draft new Aged Care Act!" wrote Simon Miller (pictured), CEO of Not For Profit aged care provider Anglicare Sydney.
"The new Act will impact everyone connected to aged care and will probably be law for at least the next decade or two ... really important to get this right.
"Let me encourage you to get involved and have your say," he said.
An Exposure Draft on the new Act was released on 14 December 2023, giving stakeholders only two months to provide feedback, including the summer holiday period.
The Exposure Draft is also dependent on the as-yet-unknown funding recommendations from the Aged Care Taskforce. Its Final Report was originally due to be released by the Federal Government by the end of January, but it has yet to be published.
RLC writes to Anika Wells
The retirement living sector's peak body, the Retirement Living Council (RLC), had also written to Aged Care Minister, Anika Wells, to request an extension until 1 March so that it could prepare its submission, saying that consultation on the Exposure Draft had been "challenging".
"Our members have raised concerns that key provisions in the Bill that reference retirement villages were not included in the consultation that occurred prior to its release. There are also large portions of the Bill that remain undrafted, specifically those relating to fees and payments," said its Executive Director, Daniel Gannon (pictured).
"Even more problematic is some potential misalignment with state-based Retirement Villages Acts. These could present significant impacts for many operators in the retirement living sector that currently provide community-based care services for residents at all stages of their care, under the Support-at-Home program."
Feedback can be provided through a survey, by email or letter, by attending a workshop, or over the phone.
You can find out how to provide feedback, including information about the proposed changes, here.