Exclusive webinar on aged care draft Design Principles and Guidelines

This session ran through the content of the draft Principles and Guidelines, with relevance to aged care executive, property and asset professionals.

16 November



Fifth webinar: CHA Series ‘Guiding Lights: Expert Perspectives on Palliative Care and End-of-Life Support

Our fifth webinar was held on Thursday 16th November 2023 and featured Dr. Phillip Good.

16 November



Fourth webinar: CHA Series ‘Guiding Lights: Expert Perspectives on Palliative Care and End-of-Life Support

Our fourth webinar was held on Thursday 12th October 2023 and featured Kate Swetenham.

12 October



Third webinar: CHA Series ‘Guiding Lights: Expert Perspectives on Palliative Care and End-of-Life Support

Our third webinar was held on Tuesday 15 August 2023 and featured Dr Greg Parker.

15 August



Second webinar: CHA Series ‘Guiding Lights: Expert Perspectives on Palliative Care and End-of-Life Support

Our second webinar was held on Tuesday 11 July 2023 and featured Naomi Lewis, Clinical Manager and ELDAC co-ordinator; and Associate Professor Natasha Michael, Palliative Care Physician..

11 July



CHA WEBINAR SERIES 'GUIDING LIGHTS: EXPERT PERSPECTIVES ON PALLIATIVE CARE AND END-OF-LIFE SUPPORT'

CHA is hosting a webinar series for Members and fellow travellers featuring expert speakers who will discuss various aspects of palliative care delivery, the impact of ELDAC, and improving end-of-life care in different settings. The series will take place over June - November this year.

7 June

AMENDMENTS TO THE AGED CARE ACT 1997

A summary of major legislative changes in the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission response no. 2) Bill 2021

31 October 2021

CHA ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION

Catholic Health Australia’s full analysis of the Federal Government’s response to the Royal Commission’s Final Report into Aged Care in the May 2021 Budget.

19 May 2021



OVERVIEW OF THE AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION'S FINAL REPORT

The Government released the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on 1 March 2021. The seven volume Final Report, titled Care Dignity and Respect, includes 143 recommendations and countless sub-recommendations.

06 March 2021



MINISTER HUNT AGED CARE PRICE DETERMINATION

During our meeting, you queried whether Catholic Health Australia has a view on whether the independent aged care price determination function proposed by Counsel Assisting the Royal Commissioners would more appropriately reside with the existing independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA), or reside in a new organisation dedicated to aged care pricing.

05 March 2021



IT’S TIME TO CARE ABOUT AGED CARE – MEMBER BRIEFING ON HOW YOU CAN HELP

We are delighted to share that today sees the launch of the much-anticipated Australian Aged Care Collaboration’s campaign – ‘It’s time to care about aged care’.

15 February 2021

AGED CARE REFORM CONSULTATION PAPERS COUNSEL ASSISTING’S DRAFT ROYAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

The discussion papers were prepared to enable feedback from members regarding draft recommendations made by Counsel Assisting at the Final Hearings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety held on 22-23 October 2020.

24 November 2020



Submission in Response to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Inquiry into the Aged Care Amendment (Aged Care Recipient Classification) Bill 2020

Catholic Health Australia thanks the Committee for the invitation to provide a submission to the above Inquiry. As Australia’s largest non-government provider grouping of health and aged care services, providing care to all those who seek it in fulfilment of the Catholic Church’s mission, Catholic health and aged care providers have a vital interest in ensuring the sustainable provision of aged care services that meet community expectations for safety and quality of care and quality of life.

19 November 2020



2020-21 Supplementary Budget Submission - Aged Care

CHA’s supplementary submission to the 2020-21 Budget, focussing on additional aged care support.

25 August 2020



CHA letter to the PM on additional COVID-19 support for Aged Care

CHA have written to the Prime Minister and State and Territory Premiers, suggesting further measures to help ensure that aged care providers have the support they need to manage and prevent COVID-19 within aged care. The other aged care and church-based peaks have written similar letters.

17 August 2020



Pricing Comparability and Transparency for Home Care Packages


10 August 2020



Response to Draft Joint Management Protocol for COVID Positive Residents


10 August 2020



Aged Care Worker Regulation Scheme Response to Survey Questions


30 June 2020



CHA Response to Draft Joint Management Protocol for COVID Positive Residents

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft protocol developed by the Commonwealth and NSW Health for consideration by AHMAC forjoint management of COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care homes.

18 June 2020



Catholic Aged Care Executive Called in for Covid-19 Crisis Management

A senior executive from a Catholic aged care home has been appointed to advise the management of Anglicare’s Western Sydney home, Newmarch

14 May 2020



Statement by Nick Mersiades to Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

This statement made by me accurately setsout the evidence that I am prepared to give to the Royal Commission intoAged Care Quality and Safetyin response to questions posed in correspondence from the Royal Commission dated 12 March 2020.

11 April 2020



Summary of Aged Care Royal Commission Hearing – Workforce – 21 February 2020

At this Hearing, the Commissioners: heard evidence from two international expert witnesses; and received proposed recommendations from Counsel for inclusion in the Final Report concerning reforming the aged care workforce, primarily focussed on residential aged care. Counsel noted that the home care workforce raises a number of unique challenges that will be addressed separately at a later stage. Counsel believed that the evidence gathered over the workforce hearings highlighted that the aged care workforce is at risk of collapse. It was noted that these problems have been identified before and have only become further embedded as a consequence of inaction and growing care needs.

04 March 2020



CHA Submission in Response to Royal Commission Consultation Paper on Aged Care Program Redesign

This submission responds to the Royal Commission’s invitation to provide comment on its Consultation Paper, Aged Care Program Redesign: Services for the Future, which canvasses a fundamental redesign of the current aged care funding arrangements. The proposed redesign is based on the creation of three separate funding streams for aged care services that are agnostic of setting: domestic assistance, social supports and minor home modification and assistive technology (an entry-level support stream); personal care, nursing care and allied health services (care stream); and reablement and respite services and more expensive home modifications and assistive technology (investment stream). These separate funding streams would span all aged care and thereby be available for all eligible older people irrespective of their accommodation arrangements, whether home-based or any form of congregate living setting. In contrast, the current funding arrangements are based on the separation of residential care and home-based care, with the latter further separated into the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and the home care package program. The Consultation Paper also addresses how information requirements of older people and needs assessment, including assistance with system navigation, would be best catered for under the proposed program redesign.

28 January 2020



Pre-Budget Submission – 2020-21

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) has provided a submission to the Treasurer, in response to the invitation to identify priorities for the 2020-21 Budget, which identifies aged care priorities. CHA has identified the need to address the mounting financial pressures being experienced by residential aged care providers and the home care package waiting list as aged care priorities for the 2020-21 Budget.

24 December 2019



Consultation Paper – Additional Service Fees in Residential Aged Care

Catholic Health Australia has provided a submission in response to the Department of Health’s consultation paper concerning the regulation of fees for additional services in residential aged care. The proposed changes to the current regulations concern price disclosure provisions; restrictions on low means residents agreeing to fees for additional services; time limits on additional service fee agreements; and review provisions concerning ‘capacity to benefit’ from additional services.

17 December 2019



CHA Submission to ACFA Consultation Paper – HCP payments in arrears

On the 2 October 2019, the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, asked the Aged Care Financing Authority (ACFA) to examine the potential financial impact on home care providers of the Australian Government’s 2019-20 Budget measure to improve the way home care providers are paid Government subsidy and provide advice to him by 13 December 2019. ACFA sought submissions to its consultation paper – Improving home care payment arrangements which can be accessed here. CHA worked with member representatives to develop a response to the range of issues.

14 December 2019



Catholic Health Australia’s (CHA) response to the Consultation Paper – Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) for Commonwealth funded residential aged care

The Department of Health has issued a consultation paper on the design of a Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) to replace the current reportable assaults regime that applies in residential aged care. The SIRS as proposed would broaden the range of incidents that are reportable, including serious resident on resident incidents, and extend the simple reporting of an incident to include providers’ responses to incidents. The SIRS is intended to operate in conjunction with the open disclosure processes in the new Quality Standards and the implementation of a risk-based quality regulatory framework. In general terms, CHA supports the proposed design of the SIRS, but with some modifications, and highlights the need for detailed guidance to support providers with the implementation of SIRS.

09 October 2019



Proposed Alternative Models for Allocating Residential Places Response to Consultation Paper

In the 2018-19 Budget, the Government agreed in principle to assigning residential places to consumers rather than to providers, subject to an impact analysis. As part of the impact analysis, a discussion paper was released requesting feedback from the aged care sector. Catholic Health Australia’s submission in response to the discussion paper provides conditional support for assigning places to consumers because of its potential to encourage service innovation and to reward providers delivering quality services that are responsive to consumer preferences. However, in order to achieve the full potential for service improvement while at the same time manage the transitional business and financial risks, CHA considers that assigning places to consumers must be accompanied by complementary reforms to the current system.

15 September 2019



Staffing Input Reporting by Aged Care Homes - Queensland Health

Catholic Health Australia has provided a submission to Queensland Health concerning public reporting of staffing input information under the Health Transparency Bill 2019 by aged care homes in Queensland. While supporting the intention of the Bill in relation to greater public disclosure of service quality, Catholic Health Australia argues in the submission that the proposed publication of staffing input data focussed on personal care and nursing is of limited use to consumers and likely misleading, and that the more appropriate process for further improving public disclosure and service quality in relation to aged care services in Australia is to engage with the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and, as appropriate, COAG processes.

09 August 2019



CHA Response to Proposed New Funding Model for Personal and Nursing Care in Residential Aged Care

The Department of Health issued a consultation paper proposing a new funding model for personal and nursing care in residential aged care to replace the current ACFI model. CHA considers that the proposed AN-ACC classification and funding model is a superior model to the current ACFI, but elements of the new model would benefit from further analysis, testing and fine tuning before implementation.

31 May 2019



Strengthening Regulations for Managing Prudential Risk in Residential Aged Care

The Department of Health issued a discussion paper canvassing options for strengthening regulations for managing prudential risk in residential aged care, in particular with regard to Refundable Accommodation Deposits held by aged care providers. Catholic Health Australia supported the strengthening of the current regulations. In assessing the options for their strengthening, Catholic Health Australia had regard to their administrative simplicity, efficiency and propensity to encourage ‘right behaviour’.

15 March 2019



CHA response to Streamlined Consumer Assessment for Aged Care

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) supports the design principles as outlined but recommends that in order to provide context to how the design principles are implemented, there needs to be an overarching statement of the objectives; purpose and function of the proposed assessment providers.

09 February 2019



Witness Statement - Royal Commission

Nick Mersiades, Aged Care Director, was requested by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to provide a Statement which provided information on aged care matters set out in a notice received from the Commission.

31 January 2019



Pre-Budget Submission 2019-2020

Dear Senator, I write in response to your invitation for submissions concerning priorities for the 2019-20 Budget. As Australia’s largest non-government provider grouping of health and aged care services, providing care to all those who seek it in fulfilment of the Catholic Church’s mission, Catholic Health Australia and Catholic service providers have a vital interest in policies aimed at ensuring the sustainable provision of aged care services that meet community expectations for safety and quality of care and quality of life.

31 January 2019



CHA AGED CARE OPERATIONAL PLAN

This Aged Care Policy Operational Plan is the result of detailed and deliberative consultation with a range of representatives across the membership with content validated through a facilitated workshop of CEOs and leaders representing members across Australia. Each organisation was represented by the CEO or their delegate, representing senior executive members operating in the aged care sector.

12 May 2023

OVERVIEW OF THE AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION'S FINAL REPORT

The Government released the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on 1 March 2021. The seven volume Final Report, titled Care Dignity and Respect, includes 143 recommendations and countless sub-recommendations.

06 March 2021