ACSA petitions Parliament
A delegation of Aged and Community Services Australia members will go to Parliament next Wednesday to present a petition with about 5000 signatures and lobby federal MPs to hear the industry’s concerns.
Above: Aged and Community Services Australia CEO Professor John Kelly.
By Stephen Easton
Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) has collected thousands of signatures on a petition and will take it to Parliament next Wednesday, as it continues to lobby against changes to the way residential aged care is funded.
The petition argues the changes to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI), which aim to reduce the funding paid out to care for new residents, may lead to staff reductions and a decrease in the quality of care.
It therefore asks that Members of Parliament reconsider this decision and determine “the real cost of caring for older Australians” through an independent cost-of-care study, “so that appropriate funding for appropriate care can be provided”.
ACSA chief executive, Adjunct Professor John Kelly, said the petition, which can be signed up until close of business tomorrow, had received around 5,000 signatures from providers around the country.
It will be presented to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions next Wednesday, 15 August, and AAA understands it will then be tabled in Parliament on Monday 10 September.
On the same day, the ACSA delegation have arranged to meet with 40 politicians on all of the issues that concern the association’s members.
“For our lobbying day, we’ve got about 20 of our national CEOs and board members going to Canberra, and we’ve got about 40 meetings organised with members of ministerial staff, backbenchers and ministers themselves,” Prof Kelly said.
“We’re basically focusing on two issues: the ACFI issues that have been well and truly discussed and separately to that, how we see the reform package being implemented and what we need the Members of Parliament to do, for that to happen successfully.”
As well as reconsidering the ACFI changes and undertaking an independent cost-of-care study, ACSA wants the government to change its timetable to accelerate the implementation of key reform measures.
“We’re just really reinforcing … exactly what was in the recent National Aged Care Alliance (NACA) recommendations about bringing some of the reforms forward to offset the reductions, as we see it, in the ACFI subsidies,” Prof Kelly said.
“In terms of the reform package we’ll be putting a number of suggestions to members of Parliament – particularly in relation to community care and how the reforms might be progressed in terms of consumer-directed care, and how that might manifest itself – and also to understand more about [the definition of] ‘substantial refurbishment’.”
Under this year’s aged care reform package, residential care operators will be able to access increased accommodation supplements from July 2014, but only for facilities that have been built or substantially upgraded after April this year.
Other industry figures share very similar views, including rival peak association Leading Age Services Australia, which is also a member of NACA.
The government’s outlays through ACFI, a tool for assessing the level of care required by each aged care resident through a series of questions, have grown at a rate of more than five and a half per cent since the ACFI system was introduced.
The government hopes the changes will return that growth rate to historical trend levels – between two and three per cent – meaning the funding will grow slightly, but not as much as many industry figures believe is necessary.
Not only is the $480M funding going to result in staff cuts and a definite compromise to the quality of care being delivered, (and therefore more complaints, more non-compliance to standards etc) but stand alone ACFs, particularly those in rural & remote communities in Australia may well have to close. Great social outcome Mark & Julia. Meanwhile the nation looks on and wonders about the $1B over run in the National Broadband project already and of course the uncontrollable budget blow out for the failed border control and illegal refugee requiring accommodation, support and settlement at the cost of social responsibilities such as aged care, public housing etc. Yes, I will add my name to the petition and say “go get um ACSA”. You really need to let the wider community know what this morally bankrupt government is doing
When will this industry tell the truth
There is no $480 million reduction – it is all a beat up by greedy providers for even more profits
Stop using old people as your pawns
Not sure where you have been Vermula but you can’t be serious. Aged care has always had to be content with the crumbs that fall off the table and every now and then the Government of the day may throw a biscuit. ACFI was such a biscuit. Working in the church and charity sector of aged care, I have not come across any greedy aged care providers, just resource-stretched ones who do a fabulous job making the dollars go as far as they do. It’s the Government telling the porkies