ACAR details announced
The government has released the vital information you will need to participate in the 2008-09 ACAR.
The Commonwealth Government has officially released the details of the 10,447 residential and community places available in the 2008-09 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR), which begins this weekend.
With a total of 3,026 places, Queensland has more bed and package licences than any other state, eclipsing New South Wales (2,994) and Victoria (2,096).
Residential aged care beds (7,663) account for approximately 73 per cent of the places.
The round includes 1,809 new Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs), 653 Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) packages and 323 EACH Dementia packages.
The Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot has also announced the ‘indicative’ figures for the next two ACAR rounds. At this stage it is expected that 10,753 places will be made available through the 2009-10 ACAR and 11,897 in 2010-2011.
In combination with the zero real interest loans scheme and out-of-round places, the Rudd Government plans to provide over 37,000 new places in the next three years.
Approved providers will be officially invited to apply for places in selected newspapers on Saturday, 8 November.
“This is about planning for Australia’s future and meeting the challenges of our nation’s ageing population,” said Mrs Elliot.
The invitation to apply for capital grants and ‘Extra Service’ status will occur at the same time.
The Department of Health and Ageing will conduct information sessions for providers from Monday, 10 November to Tuesday, 18 November.
The sessions are scheduled for a range of locations, including Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Shellharbour, Sydney, Melbourne, Shepparton, Brisbane, Alice Springs, Darwin, Bunbury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Caloundra, Gold Coast, Orange, Mackay, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston and Canberra.
Providers will be able learn important details about the application forms and the way in which they will be assessed.
The department will also put the information from the sessions online immediately after the invitation to apply is posted.
Applications for the 2008-09 ACAR will close on Friday, 19 December and the assessment period will run from January to May next year. Allocations will then be announced in June 2009.
For more information, contact the Aged Care Information Line on 1800 500 853 or visit www.health.gov.au/acar2008
