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13 hours ago

Dept mum on funding aged care nurse pay rise from 1 March

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Aged Care has told The SOURCE they are still considering the pay rise for aged care nurses taking effect starting 1 March 2025, and further information will be provided “in the near future”.

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DoHAC releases second draft of funding rules for new Aged Care Act

The second Draft of Stage 2 consultation on the Rules associated with the new Aged Care Act contain details on the ‘no worse off’ principle for people already accessing aged care services, but there still aren’t details on new retention amounts for RADs and the indexation applied to DAPs.

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DoHAC aged care regulation webinar: “Is anyone else concerned?”

A Department of Health and Aged Care webinar held on 30 January gave operators an opportunity to ask senior Department figures questions about the reforms, including how providers can check their details before they are moved across to the new system.

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Development

Resthaven bids to replace existing aged care home in Marion, Adelaide

South Australian Not For Profit Resthaven has lodged plans to redevelop its Marion site, 10km south of the Adelaide CBD, including building a 150-place residential aged care home, with the existing home on the site recently marking its 50-year...

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Sector Moves & People

Another key driver of aged care reforms promoted within Dept

Fay Flevaras had been appointed Chief Digital Information Officer in the Australian Government Depart of Health and Aged Care after acting in the role of First Assistant Secretary Digital Transformation & Delivery – Aged Care Reform since 2021.

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Opinion

Memory support units hitting capacity, warns Lutheran Services CEO Nick Ryan, in his Federal Election ‘political wishlist’

“There are more than 100 forms of dementia and every experience is unique. Staff need a toolkit of specialised skills, knowledge and expertise to support residents,“ said Nick.

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Living with Dementia

The next steps for innovative dementia care villas, only in SATURDAY

Small, hi-tech Costerfield House is being trialled on a new 20-acre respite space for people living with dementia and their carers, Reflections at Eppalock, 130km northwest of Melbourne.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

mecwacare buys vacant aged care home in Bendigo on market for nearly 12 months

Not For Profit mecwacare has acquired a 52-bed former Estia Health aged care home in Long Gully, Bendigo, which closed in 2023 and had been on the market for nearly 12 months.

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Aged care shock: Fed Govt cuts COVID-19 supplement by 40% as vaccination rate languishes

In a surprise move, the Aged Care Outbreak Management Support Supplement available to Government-funded aged care homes has been cut from $2.81 per day per bed, the rate received per bed per day until the end of December 2024, to only $1.65 per bed per day.

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102 MPS residential care places allocated at a cost of $74K per bed

The Federal Government’s 2024-25 MPS allocation will create an additional 102 new places, including 46 for three new MPSs in rural and remote areas.

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Govt renews funding for 8,000 aged care nursing student placements

The Federal Government has renewed funding for the Aged Care Nurse Clinical Placements Program with an $18.4 million investment to support 8,000 nursing students achieve clinical placements with five organisations covering every state and territory.

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Aged Care Transition Taskforce addresses “criticality” in timing of release of new rules

The Aged Care Transition Taskforce met for the third time on 20 January, discussing the timing for the release of the Aged Care Rules, the sector’s ‘digital readiness’, and consultation on the Rules.

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