Independent Review – Department of Health
On 27 February 2020, the Government introduced the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Improved Home Care Payment Administration No. 1) Bill 2020.
The purpose of the Bill is to change the payment of home care subsidy to approved providers from being paid in advance to being paid in arrears. Payment of subsidy in arrears is intended to introduce a more contemporary business practice into home care subsidy payment arrangements and bring these arrangements into alignment with other Government programs.
The Bill amends both the Aged Care Act 1997 and the Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997, and gives effect to the first stage of reforms to improve payment administration arrangements for home care packages announced in the 2019‑20 Budget.
Consistent with the Government’s Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) requirements, the Department of Health (the Department) certified that excerpts from the review by the Aged Care Financing Authority of the Financial Impact on Home Care providers as a Result of Changes in Payment Arrangements represent a process and analysis equivalent to a RIS. The Office of Best Practice Regulation does not assess the quality of independent reviews and RIS-like documents used in place of a RIS.
The Department has self-assessed that the Bill will result in no changes in regulatory burden.