ACAR ends but providers can seek places during transition

Thompson Health Care, Signature Care and TLC Healthcare have collectively picked up almost 800 of the 4,000 residential aged care places in the final round of offers but providers will have opportunties to apply for places before the new system starts.

The 2020 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR), announced last Friday, allocated 4,098 residential aged care places and 1,028 short-term restorative care (STRC) places worth $380 million a year combined, plus $150 million in capital grants.

The finalisation of the 2020 ACAR marks the start of the transition period to a new system, where residential care places will be allocated directly to care recipients from 1 July 2024.

During the transition period, providers holding places will be able to operationalise them and start delivering care and residential care providers without places will have opportunities to seek places outside of an ACAR, the Department of Health said.

In the 2020 ACAR services in NSW picked up the highest number of residential places (1,391) followed by Victoria (1,289) and Queensland (917) while the sunshine state recieved the most funding for capital grants ($43.3 million).

Several providers picked up more than 200 places including Thompson Health Care, which received 304 places for three facilities in New South Wales that target veterans, dementia and respite services.

Signature Care received 273 places across seven services in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Western Australia with some targeting people who are in rural and remote areas or socially or finally disadvantaged and dementia.

And TLC Healthcare picked up 205 places for three facilities in Victoria including 150 places for a new facility in Mordialloc, which was the equal highest allocation for a single facility.

TLC Healthcare CEO Lou Pascuzzi said the Mordialloc development due for completion in August 2022 included its first child care centre alongside the usual aged care home, community medical centre, commercial health club, swimming pool and café.

“TLC has been allocated 505 residential aged care places in the past seven years and we have converted all of those allocations to fully operational aged care accommodation.

“Our development in Mordialloc is on-track to open August 2022 and that will be the final step in making all of our allocated places operational,” Mr Pascuzzi said in a statement.

Oxah Health was the other provider to receive 150 places for a single home, in its case for the Oxa Aged Care service in the Melbourne suburb of Epping.

Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services Richard Colbeck said most of the new places would take effect within the next 18 months.

“I’m delighted with the response by providers that demonstrated their capacity to fast-track the delivery of quality care to senior Australians,” Mr Colbeck said in a statement.

“As a result, twice as many residential care places have been allocated than were made available for allocation.”

Mr Colbeck said the new system would give providers greater freedom to adjust and expand services to meet demands.

The design and implementation of the new system in residential aged care will be informed by consultation with seniors and the aged care sector.

Capital grants

The $150 million in capital grants funds 72 infrastructure projects including three that have received $10,000 or more.

Southern Cross Care in Qld received $14,000,000 for SCC Chinchilla – Illoura Village in the Darling Downs region.

Wheatfields Incorporated picked up $11,265,000 for its facility in Freeling in the Barossa region of South Australia.

And the Wongaburra Society received $10,000,000 for the Wongaburra Garden Settlement Hostel in Beaudesert, also in Queensland.

Find out more 2020 ACAR outcomes

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