Social Futures and Community Industry Group are supporting services to get ready for aged care reform. We have worked together to produce the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) Reform ready checklist to guide reform ready consultations with CHSP providers. We step managers, management teams and board members through a conversation about governance, older people’s voice, workforce, finance, information technology, and quality and safety to reflect on your reform preparations and plan where to focus next as we head towards the new Aged Care Act, quality standards and Support At Home program.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is driving wide-ranging changes to aged care in Australia. The commissioners expressed concern about the extent of substandard care reflecting poor quality on the part of some aged care providers. They highlighted fundamental systemic flaws in the design and governance of the Australian aged care system. New legislation will shift our focus from the funding requirements of providers to the care needs of older people.
The purpose of the new aged care system is “to deliver an entitlement to high quality care and support for older people, and to ensure that they receive it. The care and support must be safe and timely and must assist older people to live an active, self-determined and meaningful life in a safe and caring environment that allows for dignified living in old age”*.
The new Act (Aged Care Bill 2023) aims to move the sector to a rights-based and person-centred approach and incentivise continuous quality improvement. This approach is fundamental to high quality care. It includes a Statement of Rights that recognises individuals’ need for assessment, reassessment and delivery of services to be culturally safe, culturally appropriate, trauma aware and healing informed, and accessible and suitable for individuals living with dementia or other cognitive impairment.
CHSP providers from across Australia can contact [email protected] to arrange a 60 to 90 minute consultation on MS Teams.
Download the checklist: 20240315_CHSP reform ready checklist_v5