Govt restates policy on capital funding for aged care
The Australian Government will provide up to $44.562 million in capital grants to create residential aged care services within the 2008-2009 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR).
This is the largest single capital grant allocation by an Australian Government within the approvals round process – since the Aged Care Act came into effect in 1997.
More than two-thirds of the grants are going to aged care services outside the major capital cities.
This announcement, made by the Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot, is a follow-on of the previous Govt’s ‘Securing the Future’ capital funding policy.
“The capital grants for construction are important in the current economic climate,” Mrs Elliot said.
Aged care providers can apply for capital funding to:
- Acquire land to build new premises;
- Erect, alter or extend premises; and
- Acquire fittings or equipment for those premises.
The eligibility criteria for Capital Grants are set out in the Essential Guide for the 2008-09 Aged Care Approvals Round.
The following is taken into consideration when assessing applications for funding:
- the urgency of the need for the capital works;
- the extent to which the proposal will maintain or extend the range of residential care services available in the region;
- benefits regarding enhanced long-term viability of a service and improved continuity of care for recipients;
- benefits to current and future care recipients and their families;
- the applicant’s demonstrated lack of capacity to fund the proposed works; and
- the proportion of care recipients who are concessional and people with special needs as defined under the Aged Care Act 1997.
