New Funding Arrangements for Residential Aged Care

The Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt, yesterday outlined a revised package of aged-care funding measures to ensure the sector is funded and sustainable into the future.

Mr Wyatt’s changes to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) have been announced after extensive consultation with the sector.

These changes balance funding the nation’s growing aged care bill, while taking into account provider feedback on how to fund residents needing the highest level of care.

“Consultation with the sector has been a feature of aged care reform,” Minister Wyatt said. “The sector will continue to play a key role in co-designing reform initiatives aimed at ensuring a sustainable aged care system.”

“The Government has listened to concerns of providers and adjusted or removed some of the previously proposed changes relating to the delivery of complex pain management,” Minister Wyatt said. 

The revised package increases the viability supplement for eligible rural and remote services.  This is in addition to the increase already announced in the Budget and reflects the Government’s continuing commitment to ensuring high-quality aged care for rural and regional Australia.

“It is important to the integrity of the funding arrangements that certain changes to the Complex High Care domain go ahead to ensure funding appropriately reflects the care needs of residents, contemporary care practices and is clinically appropriate,” Minister Wyatt said. 

“The revised package provides more certainty for the sector and will deliver sustainable expenditure growth over the short term while paving the way for longer-term reforms.  Both the Government and the sector want a more stable and sustainable funding system and we will be consulting closely with the sector on longer-term reform options.”

The Department of Health will be closely monitoring provider claiming patterns and additional funding has been allocated to improve compliance systems.

For a more detailed look at the changes, click here. 

Search for residential aged care in: