Some Registered Nurses are still waiting for the Government’s $6,000 payment to “reward clinical skills and leadership”, which was announced back in November 2022.
RNs working in regional or remote areas, who hold a relevant postgraduate degree, or who take on additional leadership or training may be entitled to an additional $2,300 on top of the base grant.
The payment was announced to “recognise the integral role of RNs in delivering high quality care for older Australians”, but also to attract workers to the sector ahead of the requirement for 24/7 RNs from 1 July 2023.
The closing date for the first round of payments was 28 Feb 2023, and, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care, as of 1 May 2023, 1,285 applications have been received for almost 40,000 RNs.
Payments have been approved for more than 24,000 RNs, with ‘grant agreements’ sent to 300 providers.
Aged care providers are required to pass payments onto their employees as soon as possible but no later than eight weeks after the receipt of the grant payment, the Department said.
“The Department will be able to confirm the payments have gone to RNs during the acquittal process at the end of the 2022-23 financial year and is engaging an auditor to ensure payments are passed on “as required”.
The Department said there were “quality issues” with some providers’ applications, which can be made through GrantConnect, due to inaccurate or incomplete information, which caused a delay in finalising the payments.
The Department is also encouraging providers to submit applications early, as assessments occur in order of receipt.
