Transcript Document

Aged Care Reform Package
Vanessa D’Souza
Department of Health and Ageing
NSW & ACT State Office
27 May 2013
Need for reform
• Australia’s aged care system is not well placed to
meet future challenges
• Older people increasingly want to receive care in
their home and have more choice
Productivity Commission inquiry
• In 2011, the Productivity Commission released a final
report on the Caring for Older Australians inquiry.
• Several key recommendations came out of the
report.
Government response to Productivity
Commission's inquiry
• On 20 April 2012, the Government announced the
$3.7 billion Living Longer Living Better aged care
reform package in response to the Productivity
Commission's report.
• Substantially informed by Productivity Commission’s
report and external consultation including the
Minister’s Conversations on Ageing.
Living Longer Living Better overview
$3.7 billion over five years:
• $955.4 million to help people to stay at home
• $54.8 million to help carers access respite and support
• $660.3 million to deliver better residential aged care
• $1.2 billion to strengthen the aged care workforce
• $39.8 million to support consumers and research
• $80.2 million to ensure better health connections
• $268.4 million to tackle the nation’s dementia epidemic
• $192.0 million to support people from diverse
backgrounds
• $256.4 million to build a system for the future
Staying at home
$955.4 million over five years
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Commonwealth Home Support Program
More Home Care packages
Greater choice and control in Home Care
Fairer means testing arrangements
Supporting carers
$54.8 million over five years
• Greater access to respite and support services as well
as streamlined funding for respite care.
• Increased funding for carer counselling and a
network of carer support centres around Australia
will be established.
Residential care
$660.3 million over five years
• More residential aged care facilities
• Supporting viability of services in regional, rural and
remote areas
• Greater choice and control
• Strengthened means testing
Workforce
$1.2 billion over five years
• Establishment of Workforce Compact
• Additional funding to support higher wages
• Enhanced training and education opportunities
Consumer support and research
$39.8 million over five years
• Additional funding for consumer advocacy and
Community Visitors Scheme
• Support for aged care research and evaluation
Better health care connections
$80.2 million over five years
• Support to strengthen connections between aged
care providers and other health care providers
• Innovation in service delivery
• Better palliative care
Tackling dementia
$268.4 million over five years
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New Dementia Supplement
Improved hospital and primary care
Increased focus on younger onset dementia
Reducing time between symptoms and diagnosis
Older Australians from diverse
backgrounds
$192 million over five years
• More aged care places for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Australians
• Greater support for veterans
• Staff training to be more sensitive to specific needs
• More assistance for older homeless people
Building a system for the future
$256.4 million over five years
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New Aged Care Reform Implementation Council
Aged Care Financing Authority
Gateway to aged care services
Streamlined quality regulation
Increased powers to handle consumer complaints
www.livinglongerlivingbetter.gov.au
Reform progress
• Dementia made a National Health Priority Area
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
older Australians now treated as a special needs
group
• Aged Care Reform Implementation Council
established
• Strategic Workforce Advisory Group established
Reform progress (cont.)
• Aged Care Financing Authority established
• Advisory groups for new Home Care packages,
Consumer Directed Care, Gateway, Specified Care
and Services established
Your contacts in the
NSW & ACT HACC Section
• Vanessa D’Souza & Candice Ungaro
• [email protected]
• Ph: 02 9263 3555