This week, the Federal Government’s decision to keep the Aged Care Taskforce’s Final Report under wraps is stoking the ire of the Shadow Aged Care Minister – is this a risk to bipartisan support for the recommendations? See my opinion piece.
In great news for the aged care and retirement living sector, the Government has opted to extend the consultation on the Exposure Draft of the Aged Care Act – due to close tomorrow – by another three weeks.
And in another win, Labor has also requested that the Fair Work Commission bring forward its wage decision for indirect aged care workers – suggesting the Government is factoring in a wage rise ahead of the May Budget.
Plus, be sure to check out the latest issue of SATURDAY this week, with Catholic Healthcare’s Josh McFarlane on the cover.
We look at the Not For Profit’s strategy to expand its care offering, plus Community Home Australia’s success, including its new Bali resort, a new dementia care cabin that can be installed in your backyard and more – subscribe here.
By Lauren Broomham
Opinion: fearmongering about the family home won’t solve Australia’s looming aged care bed crisis
Media speculation around the delayed release of the Aged Care Taskforce’s Final Report misses the point: Australia can’t afford to let its recommendations be left on the shelf.
What’s behind Govt’s “secretive” delay of Aged Care Taskforce’s Final Report?
The delay in the release of the Aged Care Taskforce's Final Report, which will contain details of future aged care funding arrangements, is fuelling media speculation that it is being withheld until after the Dunkley by-election on 2 March 2024 to avoid a political stoush and help Labor hold onto its majority in the House of Representatives.
Sky News attempts to ignite ‘scare campaign’ over delayed Aged Care Taskforce recommendations
Sky News host Paul Murray invented a political debate over aged care funding earlier this week, claiming the Government was delaying the release of the Aged Care Taskforce Final Report until after the Dunkley by-election on 2 March because including the family home in means testing for aged care "could move votes".
Two Days Unpack the Taskforce Recommendations The new Aged Care Act
We have assembled leading CEOs and experts in one place to unpack the impacts they expect from the historic Taskforce recommendations and new Aged Care Act.
Only at a LEADERS SUMMIT are CEOs given the podium time to speak to their strategies and then be questioned on their thinking and impacts on their businesses.
Here are 15 leaders that are at the coalface every day, and will share with you their thinking across two days in Sydney, 19 & 20 March.
Take time out to gain strategy insights in 48 hours that you could not achieve in 12 months.
More than 40 CEOs will present both podium presentations and breakout sessions: their vision, their strategies and why now is the time to act. Check out the program HERE.
Premium networking with 500 delegates
The LEADERS SUMMIT is structured to maximise your networking opportunity: • Extended barista coffee breaks • Full restaurant sitdown lunch both days • Hatted restaurant operator private dinners • Premium venue
Value: $2,300 including operator private hatted restaurant dinners
Exceptional value for two days intensive strategy discussion across retirement living, home care and residential care.
Unrivalled depth and breadth of briefings across all major business silos. Take two days out to compare your FY25 strategies for just $2,300.
The LEADERS SUMMIT ‘sells out’ every year, so book now.
No formal compliance or enforcement action taken over 24/7 RN requirement: regulator
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) is working with residential aged care providers unable to meet their 24/7 RN requirement due to staff shortages, and to date there have been no cases that have warranted formal compliance or enforcement action, Commissioner Janet Anderson has revealed to The SOURCE.
Department of Health and Aged Care extends consultation on new Aged Care Act
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.
Nurse union’s hefty wages claim attempts to piggy-back on aged care rise
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) last Friday (9 February) to increase wages for nurses, midwives, and assistants in nursing (AIN) by up to 35%.
Feros Care looks to SMASH stigma around aged care jobs with latest film series
The aged care provider will today release the first episode in ‘SMASHING’, a new six-part documentary series that is seeking to shatter the stereotypes around aged care careers.
WA aged care provider opens dedicated training hub
Coolibah Care, a Not For Profit provider of residential aged care, independent living, and home care services in Mandurah, Western Australia, about 70km south of Perth, opened its Coolibah Care Training Hub on 31 January 2024.
The Aged Care Task Force recommendations to government report is set to be released any day.
The Task Force objective is financial sustainability for home care and residential care operators and the delivery of quality aged care.
What will be the recommendations to government? How will they deliver financial sustainability? Which recommendations are the government likely to take up? When is the government likely to implement the selected recommendations?
Free video analysis
Hear from three independent experts the day after the release.
The SOURCE will package a free ranging discussion between Task Force member Grant Corderoy, respected sector advisor Cam Ansell and veteran aged care operator Ian Thorley.
Watch your inbox the day after the report release for your complimentary link.
By Caroline Egan
US aged care homes facing crisis
A review by a major US accounting firm, Marcum, has shown the US nursing home sector stands at a "pivotal moment", emerging from the difficulties of the pandemic, but facing rising costs, home closures, and a tighter regulatory environment.
New Quality Indicators data reveals workforce pressure points in aged care
The Quality Indicator (QI) data for the September 2023 quarter has included six new Indicators for the first time, and, overall, reflected an improvement in most reported issues.
Government asks FWC to bring forward decision on Phase 3 of Work Value case
With the sector still waiting for the Final Report of the Aged Care Taskforce and an extended deadline for submissions on the draft of the new Aged Care Act, another deadline is looming: the Fair Work Commission (FWC)'s decision on Phase 3 of the Work Value case for the cleaners, food services workers, maintenance staff, and laundry workers in residential aged care.
Statutory duties in the draft Aged Care Act “disproportionate and punitive”: MinterEllison webinar
The new Aged Care Act goes further than the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended by introducing criminal penalties for fault-based offences, the law firm has warned in a webinar for aged care providers.
Late 2023 slowdown in aged care resident COVID jabs preceded vaccination dive to 30%
The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in residential aged care dropped off sharply in the three months to November 2023, as case numbers eased and vaccine fatigue set in.
NSW's MidCoast Council, which covers a 10,000 sqm area about 300km north east of Sydney, will stop delivering home care and disability services, following a Council decision last week, as the prospect of ongoing reforms and financial uncertainty make the services no longer viable for Council to offer.
Aged care worker charged after allegedly “stomping” on 95-year-old female resident
Detectives in Cannington, a suburb about 15km south east of the Perth CBD, have charged a man over the alleged "stomping" of a 95-year-old female aged care resident last month.
