Reported outcomes of the Aged Care Act

Posted December 7th 2009

by DPS

The 2008-09 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997 has been tabled in Parliament.

“The report confirms the Rudd Government’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to quality aged care services for older Australians where and when they need them,” Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot said.

“Australia has one of the longest life expectancies in the world and the Rudd Government is responding to the challenges of an ageing population,” she said.

Over the past year, more residential care places became operational, community care services have grown and more services are on the way. As at 30 June 2009, the number of residential, community and transition care places operating in Australia increased to 228,038.

The report outlines that over the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009:

10,447 new aged care places were allocated;
211,345 people received permanent residential aged care in one of Australia’s 2,783 aged care homes;
41,873 people received short-term respite care at these facilities;
64,111 older Australians received a community care package; and
12,635 people received transition care through 2,228 transition care places following a hospital stay.

Improved quality and greater accountability

The report outlines that over the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009:

The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency conducted 7,595 visits to aged care homes, with each home receiving at least one unannounced visit during the year;
The Agency identified 303 homes as being non-compliant with one or more of the 44 expected outcomes. Homes found to be non-compliant with the Accreditation Standards were placed on a timetable for improvement to correct the non-compliance;
The Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme undertook 3,151 visits to homes, 1,847 of which were unannounced;
The Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme received 12,573 contacts during the reporting period. Nearly two-thirds of the contacts (7,962) related to concerns that aged care service providers were not meeting their responsibilities under the Act. The remaining calls were dealt with through the provision of information or referred to other relevant authorities;
The most common issues raised with the complaints scheme related to health and personal care (4,117 cases), alleged abuse (2,034 cases, which includes allegations of a Reportable Assault), consultation and communication (1,628 cases), personnel (1,471 cases), and physical environment (1,386 cases);
There were 1,411 notifications of alleged reportable assaults which included 1,121 allegations of unreasonable use of force and 272 allegations of unlawful sexual contact and 18 related to both (Police are responsible for determining whether criminal charges should be laid and the Department investigates whether the provider has met their responsibilities under the Aged Care Act); and
The Department issued 163 Notices of Non-Compliance and 30 Notices of Decision to Impose Sanctions.

Increased funding and continued investment

The report outlines that over the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009:

$9.1 billion was spent on ageing and aged care – an increase of 9.1%;
$6.5 billion was spent on residential aged care – an increase of 7.8%;
$479.7 million was spent on Community Aged Care Packages – an increase of 7.1%;
$256.3 million was spent on Extended Aged Care at Home packages, including tailored dementia packages – an increase of 28.9%;
$1.094 billion was provided for the joint Commonwealth, state and territory Home and Community Care Program – an increase of 8.1%; and
Almost one in four residential aged care facilities undertook new building work, refurbishments or upgrades during the year, investing $3 billion in construction activity.