The Department of Health and Aged Care has released an updated schedule for the release of the Aged Care Rules, the documentation supporting implementation of the new Aged Care Act, which compounds the already intense pressure on providers to implement changes within a short timeframe.
The Government's previous timeline indicated all the Rules would be released by March, however, the latest guidance shows some Rules now won't be released until April. Allowing for four weeks' consultation, the Rules now won't be finalised until May, allowing only about one month for implementation.
The final tranche of the Rules to be released covers Chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and relate to provider registration, duty of operators, complaints, and place allocation.
Reform process "made worse by timeliness and compression of change"
Alasdair Croydon, CEO of Not For Profit Holy Family Services, which operates a standalone aged care home in Marayong, 38km west of the Sydney CBD, told The SOURCE, "The lateness of the release of some of the material and the varying quantum of changes that they require is a real challenge.
"The changes to the Financial and Prudential Standards will require us to rewrite both of those financial strategies in house.
"Yet the consultation period for them commenced on 18 February and continues until the 7 March.
"Small and stand-alone providers like us don’t have a large pool of spare administrative or operational staff who can read, understand and apply changes to policies, procedures or processes that all of these changes require, which is then made far worse by the timeliness and compression of change into a short period."
Though some implementation challenges remain for the provider at this point, Alasdair is confident "we will manage".
Ageing Australia's support has been instrumental in helping Holy Family Services implement the reforms.
"We are members of Ageing Australia who have been very supportive of their members," he said.
"We utilise their resources including their policy frameworks and the information they produce."
The material produced by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has also been "of excellent quality", both "informative" and "comprehensive", he added.
