Providers can expect less leniency with new start date
VIDEO: Following this week’s surprise news that the Aged Care Act and related policy including Support at Home will now commence in November, providers are told to be ready on day one because the regulator will expect them to be.
Aged care providers and consumers have welcomed an additional four months to prepare for the commencement of the new Aged Care Act and related programs including Support at Home and the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.
The government made the announcement to delay the start from 1 July to 1 November on Wednesday morning, saying it came in response to advice from the sector and experts that more time will improve the delivery of the reforms and minimise disruption.
As reported here, when Ageing Australia chief executive officer Tom Symondson shared the news with aged care providers at the peak’s Victorian Conference he said the relief among providers was palpable.
Also speaking on the sidelines of the conference, LPA managing director Lorraine Poulos agreed it was “great news” for both providers and consumers. But she says, the extra time to prepare means providers will have to expect less leniency if they are not ready on time.
“Everyone at the moment that I come across in home care and in aged care in general is feeling very stressed, very worried… So this is great news and well done to all those that advocated for the timing to be stalled,” she told Community Care Review.
“However, we do know that by starting it from November, one would expect that we will have to be ready. Whereas there was going to be an attitude of leniency if we weren’t quite ready for the first of July. So that’s just a risk that we will all have to manage.”
In addition to discussing the impact of the delay, in this video Ms Polous advises how providers should use this time and what they should prioritise:
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