StewartBrown funded to assist providers with reporting

The Department of Health has engaged aged care benchmarking firm StewartBrown to help providers meet new reporting requirements.

Home care providers will have new reporting requirements incorporated into the 2021-22 Aged Care Financial Report, due on October 31, to improve accountability and transparency on how providers use subsidies and fees.

All approved home care providers must report on finances including:

• income from providing services — including income from fees, subsidies and transfers
• expenses — including wages and salaries, management fees and care-related expenses
• other financial information — including unspent package funds and cash and liquid assets

The health department hosted a webinar for providers on Wednesday to go through the strengthened prudential reporting and additional reporting requirements introduced in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s recommendations.

Jess Evans, assistant secretary, structural adjustment operations branch at the Department of Health, told aged care providers to contact StewartBrown if they needed in needed help completing the reports.

“We’ve engaged StewartBrown, who has been contracted to provide some technical help desk support to providers as they’re completing their ACFR,” Ms Evans told the Aged Care Funding Reform webinar last week.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the service will provide independent confidential helpdesk support to providers.

“The helpdesk service supports questions from the sector on Aged Care Funding Reform ” the spokesperson told Australian Ageing Agenda.

It will also respond “to emailed queries from the sector in line with agreed explanatory notes from the department,” the spokesperson said.

Reporting increases transparency

Department of Health first assistant secretary, quality and assurance division Amy Laffan said the increased reporting requirements aimed to ensure aged care providers’ financial performance was more transparent and accountable.

“This will benefit the care of and increase choice for senior Australians and improve the capability, financial sustainability and resilience of aged care providers,” Ms Laffan told the webinar.

“We understand that it increases reporting burden, but government has given a further $17.7 billion to the aged care industry and I think it’s fair to the government and taxpayers that we expect some sort of accountability and transparency to come from that,” she said.

Ms Laffan said the additional information can better inform senior Australians about which aged care provider they go to.

“It also helps the services themselves. It helps in your sustainability and resilience,” she said.

For help with the Aged Care Financial Report email acfr.facilityreporting.help@health.gov.au.

The Aged Care Funding Reform webinar took place on 13 October.

This story first appeared on Australian Ageing Agenda