Presented by:
Cathy Milfull
Acting Assistant Secretary, Thin Markets Branch
Speakers:
Kate Harkins
Director, MPS Program
Tanya Clancy
Assistant Director, MPS Program
Roger Hunt
Assistant Director, MPS Program
[The visuals during this webinar are of each speaker presenting in turn via video, with reference to the content of a PowerPoint presentation being played on screen]
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks everyone for joining us for this next webinar in our Multipurpose Service MPS Reform series. My name is Cathy Milfull. Some of you would know me already. I am the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Thin Markets Branch which has responsibility for the MPS Program. So it’s great to be here with you again. I’m also pleased to introduce some of my colleagues who are on screen at the moment. I’ve got Tanya Clancy, Roger Hunt who you will have seen before from the MPS team, and I’m also pleased to introduce to you Kate Harkins who’s recently joined the team as the Director of the MPS section.
So as per the previous webinars we’ll do a bit of a formal presentation for you today and then we’re going to have a question and answer session at the end with this panel. So we really would encourage you to submit any questions through the Q&A function that you’ve got in Teams. We want to make this as interactive and as useful as possible and we’ll certainly try and get through as many questions as we can today. If not or if we need to get some more further information please don’t worry. We will document the responses to your questions and get them up on the website as soon as possible. So I think that’s pretty much the housekeeping.
But before my team bring up the slides and get started I did just want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we’re meeting today all across Australia where we all live, learn and work. I would like to pay my respects to Elders past and present and recognise their resilience and strength and their rich contribution to our society. I’d also like to extend that respect to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples here with us today.
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Multi-Purpose Service Program (MPSP)’, ‘Webinar 6:’, ‘Aged care reforms:’, ‘Impacts on the MPSP & providers’, ‘28 February 2025’, ‘Thin Markets Branch’, ‘Australian Government with Crest (logo)’, ‘Department of Health and Aged Care’, ‘www.health.gov.au’]
All right. So we’ll get started with the formal presentation.
So if we can move on to the next slide team.
Right. So this slide just outlines what we’re intending to cover today. As you can see I’ll provide you with some usual quick updates to start just on our reforms and other key developments affecting the Multi-Purpose Service Program. I’ll then proceed onto our focus topic for today which is MPS subsidies and client fees from 1 July with the relevant rules released in January and the consultation period closing today. I’m then going to provide you with an update on preparing for data client collection to assist with transitional arrangements for all MPS clients before I ask Kate, Tanya and Roger to join me again for our Q&A session.
So the next slide then just shows you our suggested schedule for future webinar topics. We anticipate the March webinar will have a regulation focus and we hope to have representatives of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission here to join us. If not we’ll get them to come along in April and talk directly to you. Suggested topics for April and beyond are then listed on the slide but these will be adjusted to reflect priorities in terms of the implementation of the new Act and any new rules etcetera that have come out for consultation. But as always you can also easily write to our mailbox and make suggestions for topics for subsequent webinars.
I did just want to flag that obviously the Federal election may be called sometime soon though and so we will be in caretaker period. We’re going to try and keep to this proposed schedule as much as we can. We are conscious that 1 July is not far away so we want to keep the lines of communication open. But I just wanted to flag we may need to adjust things slightly during that period.
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Quick MPS program updates’, ‘Cathy Milfull, Thin Markets Branch’]
All right. So we’ll get started on the updates for today. As usual we’ve just put the updated schedule of MPS reforms up on the screen which really gives you a snapshot of where we are in terms of our reform journey. In addition to obviously the new Aged Care Act coming on 1 July 2025 we also have some other key milestones coming up which I will touch on briefly shortly. But since our last webinar I did just want to acknowledge that our 24-25 MPS allocations round has been finalised with 102 new residential care places allocated across the country. So I did just want to say a big thank you to everyone who applied for additional places and congratulations to those that were successful. The round actually was oversubscribed for the first time I think in quite a while and I think that really shows great confidence in the MPS Program which is really fabulous.
Just as an aside on that we will be coming back to jurisdictions and yourselves with information in April on how requests for new places are expected to work under the new Act with the relevant rules out for consultation soon. Just to give you some context the new Act provides us with more flexibility in this area so we hope we can be more responsive to growth in demand in rural and remote areas moving forward.
All right. Next slide here just talks about our new MPSP Agreements. So as you’d be aware for 1 July when the new Act comes in we need to have new Agreements in place with all our MPS providers. Look this is the schedule here and we’re going well. The first round of consultations on the Agreement has already occurred with feedback from a number of jurisdictions and no major issues identified at this stage. So we’ve addressed those early comments and we’re hoping to get a second version out to jurisdictions next week. The aim is that a final draft will be distributed for signature in March or early April to allow for execution by mid-June, so that hopefully we’re all systems go for 1 July 2025.
All right. Next thing to update you on here is the 24/7 registered nursing MPS trial. So a very exciting milestone for next week is the commencement of phase two of the trial with our trial being extended to all MPS as reflected in this more detailed project timeline that you would have seen before. As part of phase two activities all 183 MPS sites will be required to report on compliance with the 24/7 registered nursing requirements and the reporting periods this time will be March and May 2025. So I believe my team have already been sending out some of those reporting templates so they may be with you already. But definitely keep an eye on your inboxes.
Just confirming too the plan is still to aim for formal implementation of the actual legislative change for 24/7 registered nursing for MPS on 1 October 2025. Exact implementation timeframes will however depend on how this next phase of the trial goes and our discussions with jurisdictions. Also just flagging that our preference where possible is to ensure we have online 24/7 reporting available via our GPMS system upon commencement of the new obligations. But as I’m sure you’re all aware ICT changes can take some time. So we’ll just keep you up to date on our progress in that space.
All right. Next update similar looking slide but this timeline is about our direct care targets trial which is also shifting to its next phase with preparations underway to commence a pilot as part of phase two in April. So as part of this trial the team have been successful in sourcing some additional funding and the idea is to undertake AN-ACC assessments that you’d be familiar with from mainstream residential care of up to around 300 residents within MPS sites for each state and territory across Australia. We’re hoping these trial assessments will occur from 1 April to 30 June this year and we’ll also have some time in motion studies which are expected to be undertaken alongside these assessments or in some cases at other trial sites. So please watch this space.
All right. Next major update was just in relation to the rules. We’re hoping to have a special focus on regulation at the next webinar but because tranche three of the rules which really covers a lot of obligations on registered providers is now out and open for consultation until the 13th of March, today we just wanted to give you a bit of a high level overview of what rules are in that tranche. Because this is a really important one for providers and jurisdictions to have a look at and provide their feedback. So hoping that I can just give you an overview to help you look at the document, make your comments and then we will certainly have the next webinar to go into some of the details more comprehensively.
So we’ve just got a couple of slides here where you will have seen sort of these tables in previous webinars. And really they just go through if you like on the left an area or subject matter for particular groups of rules. So what we’ve done now is just limit these tables to what’s in that tranche three of rules consultation to help you look at that document and work out what will apply to you and what won’t from 1 July. So you will see on this slide we’ve got a column there telling you basically for that area whether the relevant rules are pretty much the same as the current world. So they’re existing. Are they a bit different, in which case we’ve got varied there. You will also see some new obligations. And that’s obviously where we’d be particularly keen to get your feedback so we understand whether you have any concerns as MPS providers and whether there are any unintended consequences from the proposed new arrangements. I’m hoping though that nothing here is particularly surprising to you.
In terms of the new obligations you’ll see this includes requirements around the Statement of Rights and acting compatibly with that statement which we have certainly spoken about before. In addition there is new requirements to provide access to certain vaccinations though as you can see at the bottom of this table. But I understand that these are consistent with the Australian Immunisation Handbook so hopefully again nothing particularly new or concerning for you.
Lastly on this slide I just wanted to flag obviously there are new workforce, so worker screening and registration requirements that are coming. But as we’ve talked about before they’re being implemented on a phased basis with no actual significant changes being implemented from 1 July 2025 and new worker screening arrangements not expected to commence until 2026. So they are coming. We want your feedback. But don’t be concerned that there’s an immediate change for 1 July.
I will also just get my team – they’ll put a link in the chat for you during this presentation because the Department – thanks Michelle – because the Department has actually just released a consultation document around the proposed new worker registration arrangements. So that will give you a chance to see what’s coming and provide your feedback in advance.
All right. Next slide. So this slide shows you further rules that relate to conditions on registration that are included in tranche three. On this slide you’ll see most of the rules are actually existing so very similar to the current world or just slightly varied. So I’m hoping that you won’t have too many concerns with these ones. Also flagging if you look on the column on the right we’ve just tried to clarify for you which obligations apply to all MPS providers or where that’s limited as in the case with a number of the ones in this table to non-Government providers only. So that means the majority of our MPS which are Government providers would not have to comply with these particular obligations.
All right. And the last table here is related to obligations topics in the Act. So again there’s more details in the rules. Again a lot of existing requirements or things that don’t apply to MPS anyway but I did want to just call out in particular if you’re looking at these rules you will see that there is a requirement, a new requirement for MPS providers to provide a complaint and feedback management report. We think this is important from a consumer protection perspective and a continuous improvement perspective but I would really encourage you to have a look at how that’s worded, what’s required to be included, and please provide your feedback if you’ve got any concerns.
Also you’ll see there’s some further reporting which I’ve highlighted in red further down the table. So it’s reporting on provider governance and operations. I just wanted to flag if you look at the draft rules at the moment that will suggest that those requirements apply to MPS providers. I just wanted to flag that we’re still discussing that with relevant policy teams and my feeling is that actually they should not apply to MPS but we’re just still having those discussions and we’ll need to get a decision on that. But if you have feedback we’d still really welcome it. And if you do have concerns do please let us know.
All right. So last quick update just before we move onto the main topic for today. I also just wanted to flag our colleagues have asked to share with you in one of the next tranches of rules you will also see some new obligations coming around meals for 1 July. Look this shouldn’t really be too much of a surprise to MPS because you will have already been exposed to this in the context of being a residential care provider and complying with the Quality Standards. But what is actually happening is there’s some obligations around meals that in the new world will also apply in the home care space. So that will apply where you’re for example delivering meals to older people’s homes or in community respite and it’s designed to ensure that those meals are nutritious, appealing and meet the needs of older people. So again just flagging that that’s one that is new so keep an eye on that when it comes out in a subsequent tranche of rules. But we can also discuss that more at the March webinar if anyone’s got any concerns.
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘MPSP subsidies and fees under the new Act’, ‘Cathy Milfull, Thin Markets Branch’]
All right. So moving onto the main topic, MPS subsidies. So basically I’m hoping that most of you or your colleagues will have had a chance to already look at the draft rules, so called tranche 2B that outlines MPS subsidies and fees for the new Act. But for those who haven’t today is designed to just give you a high level overview of the relevant provisions. But really I wanted to assure you that the main message here is that these rules don’t actually make any practical changes to how subsidies are calculated or how much funding you’ll receive as an MPS site. Really things are just presented a bit differently and that’s because of the wording and terminology of the new Act. Where we can we’ve also just tried to simplify things a bit to make it easier to understand we hope.
All right. So next slide please. So just to understand the rules you really need to know where to look in the new Act.
Next slide please. Thanks guys. So I just put this slide in here to help you digest the rules. So it shows you where to look in the Act in order to understand what the rules are describing if you like. So essentially I won’t go into this in detail but the table shows you the relevant sections of the Act which essentially outline the minimum requirements for the Commonwealth entering into an MPS Agreement, who can be paid an MPS subsidy. The Act also then provides for the rules to outline how much subsidy will be paid and then when and how that subsidy will be paid. And lastly the rules can prescribe requirements in terms of service fees MPS clients can be charged.
All right. So then the rules go on and provide those details that the Act has allowed them to. So this slide then shows you if you’re looking at that tranche 2B which provisions you should look at that are relevant to MPS. So these details include what are those minimum requirements for the Commonwealth to enter into an MPS Agreement. So for example the MPS can’t be in a major city. It also actually provides the actual MPS subsidy formula, so will give you transparency about how we calculate funding for MPS. It also is where you’ll find the timing of the payments which very similar to now we will pay basically at the beginning of each quarter. And the fees that can be charged.
The only things I really wanted to call out for you here was that what’s known as the basic daily fee supplement allowance is continuing so don’t be alarmed. We’ve just brought it within the subsidy calculation and the main formula so it’s a bit simpler. As I mentioned there’s no changes in terms of the timing of payments. I did just want to flag though we picked up an error in the rules which we will get fixed which suggest you get paid in the subsequent quarter but I just wanted to assure you we continue to pay in advance in MPS for that quarter and we will fix that as soon as we can.
And lastly the only other thing that’s really changed here is in terms of the service fees that you can charge. There is a new requirement that you have a financial hardship policy in place as an MPS provider and the price caps that apply to mainstream services will also now apply to MPS. So for example the fee can’t be more than 85% of a basic aged care pension amount if the person is a resident of your MPS. But we have previously consulted with the jurisdictions about that through the MPS Working Group and no one has raised any concerns about that. But again please provide feedback if that’s an issue for your MPS.
All right. So almost there with subsidies. Just wanted to say all I’ve done on this slide is just when reading those rules as well sometimes you need to be aware that there are certain terms that are defined at the front section of the rules which will help your understanding. So just to make it easier for you we’ve just listed those terms and a quick explanation here to hopefully make it easier for you to understand and review.
I also just wanted to say I know not everyone loves reading legislation so the team is also designing a new MPS policy manual that we hope to have ready for 1 July. And this will actually explain everything we’re talking about today in non-legal terminology where possible and really aims to be like a one stop shop of how the MPS Program works and where you need to go in the legislation if you really want to read the specific legal provisions that you need to comply with.
All right. Look before we move off fees entirely next webinar we will actually be talking specifically about not service fees but actual accommodation payments for residents of an MPS. And that’s because the new rules should be out by then for 1 July which outline accommodation payments from 1 July. But we have already flagged this with the MPS Working Group but we did just want to also make a bit of a reminder here about the current world. And this will only affect states and territories where accommodation payments are actually charged which I know is limited to only a few jurisdictions. But just a reminder if you are in those jurisdictions the accommodation payments that can be charged for MPS is different for mainstream residential care and that you can only charge an accommodation payment not an accommodation contribution. So in practice that means you can charge a full accommodation price to a resident if they’ve been determined not to be eligible for Commonwealth Government assistance with their accommodation. So if they’ve gone through a means assessment with Services Australia effectively and they’re not eligible for assistance you can charge them the full price. But unlike mainstream residential care there’s no facility if you like in the legislation for a reduced or if you like a part payment or accommodation contribution.
So that was just a reminder and we wanted to provide that today just because we’re aware that some providers may have got a little bit confused and I do apologise for this. This is because Services Australia does issue what’s known as residential aged care fees notices and basically they outline fees that a person can be charged. But just as a reminder to people particularly any services that are new MPS that those notices are really designed for mainstream residential care services. So you just need to be careful if you’re delivering services under the MPS Program you need to remember that the legislation provides for different fees and payment arrangements. My team have updated the website to make this all really clear for you so you can look on the prices page on our website. The team might also put that one in the chat for you. But any questions please reach out because obviously we all want to make sure that older people are not being overcharged but also that everyone in your organisation understands the fee requirements.
[Visual of slide with text saying ‘Transitional arrangements – preparing for client data collection’, ‘Cathy Milfull, Thin Markets Branch’]
All right. So that’s the first topic. Moving on now we’re going to talk again sorry about transitional arrangements. So we just want to do a bit of a recap and provide you more detail on processes for allowing MPS clients to transition over to the new Act with relevant data collection processes to commence in March. So this slide just shows you those three steps in the process that as MPS providers you’ll need to be involved in. And we’re going to go through that in a little bit more detail today. Please make sure you’re putting any questions in the Q&A because we really want to make sure we’re trying to help you as much as we can with this process but we want to know if there’s issues because things are going to move pretty quickly from now on to make sure that we get this done and dusted before 1 July and that there’s no disruption to services for older people already in MPS.
So moving on. Step one really is all about obtaining client consent. So as we’ve discussed before we need you to help us collect that client consent so that your MPS clients are happy for their data to be collected and/or provided to the Department to facilitate their transition to the new Act but also to ensure that they have a correct record in our Departmental systems. We hope that you’ve already been having a bit of a think about how you’ll do this in practice. We’re imagining that it needs to occur at an MPS site level and on a one to one basis but we do appreciate that this may be more challenging where non-residents are involved and that in individual cases this may be a struggle and we’re certainly keen to support you through this process.
So what are we trying to do to help? Well we’ve tried our best to help by creating some fact sheets and an information collection notice so hopefully that takes some pressure off you because it tries to set out answers to all the questions that a client may have. We’ve sent you some electronic versions of all these documents already but if you want hard copies we can do that for you. We just need to know how many copies and who they should be sent to.
All right. So the other thing I’m just going to flag, in the package that we provided to you we’ve also given you some extra information just which explains I guess what you need to be careful of when seeking client consent. I’m sure you’re all aware of these sorts of things already but obviously we want to make sure that the consent is informed and freely given and that the person has capacity to consent effectively. But we’ve got that documentation to help your staff if they need it.
So that’s step one. For step two then you’ve got consent. Basically we need you to complete the client data workbook that will be provided to you which is an Excel file effectively. So we’ve given you a draft of this already so you know what’s coming. And this really will be important because it will provide the basis for myself actually or another Departmental officer to approve the client on that list for access to services from 1 July 2025. Post 1 July there will be a little bit of a delay unfortunately but that data will also be uploaded into our Departmental systems and that will be really important if one of your clients needs to ring My Aged Care, if they want to get reassessed or even if they actually move out of an MPS to mainstream services then their record will be correct and it will just avoid any unnecessary disruption or extra administration.
So again we’re trying to help you where we can. We do realise that this is extra administrative workload on top of other priorities. So a big ask but it really is important for the clients in your care. But to try and help we are going to actually prepopulate those Excel spreadsheets so you will actually get a tailored one sent to you with the idea being that you can just check the information, add any additional clients, strike out any that have left, and then submit that through to the Department.
So step three just explains how that is going to happen. As per the slide here we’re hoping that you can submit a workbook for each MPS site that you’re responsible for, so on three occasions. 30 April, 30 May and 30 June. So the reason for that is we want to have as up to date records as possible by 1 July. But basically the table here explains the process in the sense that April will be the main lot of work and then May and June you really just need to update those workbooks to reflect any changes in who your clients are.
So how will you submit the workbook? It’s through something called the Health Data Portal. And that’s really obviously to make sure – because we’re not dealing with just deidentified data like we often do with you. This is actually sensitive client information so we want to make sure you submit that to us through a secure channel. The only complexity here is that you first need to establish a profile to ensure that you can access the portal.
So we might just move to the next screen. That just explains how you can access the so called HDP, and we will need basically two people at least to be involved in this process. So there will be someone for your MPS who’s an uploader of the worksheet and someone who’s an approver, who’s certifying the data that’s been provided. So this is what we’re really keen to talk to you about today and why we’ve sent you some information in advance, because we want to make sure we get all these portal access issues sorted as soon as possible. I think you all know when you’re dealing with these sorts of things there can be issues. So if you can send us the names and details of the uploader and the approver using the little Excel file that was sent to you recently. We want that all by 7th of March so that from the 10th of March my team can start to contact you as the providers’ nominees and give you more detail about how this is going to work.
All right. So look that’s pretty much the end of the main presentation. I just wanted to say we’ve just put on this slide just to confirm what we need from you right now if you like is really those details of the nominees that we just mentioned. So we want that information back as soon as possible. And if you could at the same time let us know if you want any hard copies of the notice and the fact sheet and whether you want that sent to a central location for the provider or individual sites. That would be really helpful. Then we will finalise those documents and get you some hard copies so that you have them available to use.
All right. So we’ve made it to the end of the slides. Thanks everyone. I know it’s tough on a Friday afternoon to talk about legislation. But now I’d like to invite my colleagues back online and we will start the Q&A session. So I know the team have been looking at any questions that have come through in the back end so I’ll just turn to those now. So I think firstly someone’s definitely asked – and I think Kate’s replied – about the slides. And we’ll certainly make sure the slides are available. And just a reminder to everyone that all these webinars are recorded and put on the website together. We’re also going to be uploading some Q&A documents soon which will help if you’ve missed a previous webinar and want to see what people asked.
A question from I think Andrea.
Q: The new section of the rules on obligations doesn’t seem to include food and nutrition reporting. Has that been phased out?
Andrea that’s a very good question and you have clearly been looking at the rules really carefully so thank you. No it hasn’t been phased out. I should have pointed out actually – so thank you for reminding me – there will be a few extra rules on reporting to come in the next tranche I believe and that will include our MPS specific reporting if you like. So as you all know rather than some of the common financial reporting we do a separate annual report for MPS. You do your deidentified client file and you do that food and nutrition reporting. So we’ve actually kept that in a separate part of the rules and so that’s still to come Andrea. And we’ll certainly highlight that for everybody once that’s published. But it won’t be any change. It will reflect what is currently in your MPS Agreements.
All right. I think we had a question – maybe I might throw to you Kate – about when the next tranche of rules is expected to be released and what’s actually in that one.
Kate Harkins:
Yeah. Thanks Cathy. So tranche 4A is coming really soon. We’re hoping for the week after next, so the week of March 11th. Key things for us to think about in the MPS space is allocating places, as Cathy you already mentioned, and also there will be rules around the accommodation payment arrangements and a little bit more around those obligations like you just mentioned around meals and things.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Kate. All right. Next question I might give you to you Roger. Providers have asked:
Q: Can we collect client consent for the transitionals verbally or does it have to be in writing?
Roger Hunt:
Thanks Cathy. So good question. So the answer is verbally. And actually I believe this question has arisen previously from Kate in South Australia. So it’s anticipated that – and as Cathy has already mentioned earlier today – that the consent would be obtained on a one to one basis and the materials that we can make available should assist. But it’s really a verbal consent. In fact also just need to remind everybody that there are actually two consents that will be required. The provider can confirm that they’ve been obtained by virtue of the inclusion of a date in the date field within the collection workbook. So that in a sense is the consent or confirmation that the consent’s been obtained just by ensuring that they put the date in the consent was obtained for each of those two purposes within the workbook. So there’s no need for a written or signed consent from the client. Hope that helps.
Cathy Milfull:
Yep. Great. Thanks Roger. I think we’ve got a few others sort of around that whole uploading of the data process. So we might just have a look at those. Alana’s asked:
Q: How easy is it to change the uploader and approver?
I imagine that’s the Health Data Portal Roger.
Roger Hunt:
So the intent at the moment is probably to try and save a lot of people on this call from needing to get their heads around the use of the Health Data Portal and the myID requirement is that once we’ve got the names and the email addresses of representatives from the provider we’ll be unpacking all of the detail with them. But in short a person is going to – one of the provider’s staff, be it the submitter or the approver, the initial step for them will be to obtain that myID profile. Now we’re suggesting that you might want to nominate two people, one for each of those roles. You might want to suggest one or two more who might be available to backfill if somebody becomes unavailable. And that’s absolutely fine as well. It’s just that everybody who might potentially be involved would still need to have that myID profile. From that point they then need to obtain access to the Health Data Portal. That’s a separate step and again we’ll go into that a little bit later once we’ve got some names and contact emails. So that’s what I’m planning on doing. Once we’ve got those email addresses I’ll be sending out some information. And it’s entirely likely that we’ll probably have a separate webinar just to make sure that everybody’s comfortable with access and understanding what the process is. So I hope that helps.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Roger. And I think maybe a webinar or drop in session might be useful in case people have got questions. But I think for me Alana it’s probably useful nominating at least more than one person for each role just so you’ve got a backup. Because we all know people can get sick and we don’t want that impacting your process.
I’m just trying to check other similar questions. Kelly sort of asked:
Q: Who was this pre-session information sent originally to?
To be honest I’m not sure Kelly but we can check that for you. It was certainly sent out to our sort of standard mailing address for all providers but we can certainly follow up. Or if anyone needs us to resend the information to them please just drop us a line at the mailbox. Absolutely no issue there.
We’ve got just some comments from I think David and Andrea about Services Australia. Look thanks for that guys. I appreciate the frustration here and it’s certainly something that I’m keen to work with Services Australia on. I think the reality is just at the moment their focus is very much on residential care. And I think that’s one of actually the benefits of the new Act is that MPS is more comprehensively catered for. We’re very much part of kind of the whole complete aged care system. But system changes do take a while. So we’ll certainly pass on that feedback. And if you do have other concerns or are having problems with advice that’s been provided to clients please just past that on because I will also raise that in my discussions with Services Australia.
All right. Next one. I think we had a question from South Australia. Maybe sorry you again Rog.
Q: Can nominated uploaders and approvers upload multiple workbooks?
Roger Hunt:
Good question. The thinking, and I suppose part of the proposition that we’re putting to providers and we’re putting it in this way because we think it’s the easiest way and the most effective way – and with respect to consent, that of course is really an on the ground kind of exercise. With the collection of the data you’re best placed to understand where it’s best to populate the data, or for who is best placed. It might be somebody at the site. Perhaps you’re a provider who only has one or two and it might be appropriate if somebody at the site level does that. On the other hand it might be that you have a central data repository and the information that you need could be done for example in the provider administrative centre. So that’s really for you to decide. The case will be however that you will have one worksheet or one workbook for every site. So if you have ten sites there will be ten sheets to populate and all of those ten sheets would then need to be submitted back to ourselves via the Health Data Portal.
So again just to be clear we plan to send through the provider channel to the providers directly prepopulated with those data elements that Cathy mentioned earlier the required number of workbooks, that is one for every site, and they would be returned to us by the provider through the Health Data Portal.
Hopefully that makes that a bit clearer. But it’s the sort of thing that once again once we have our collective of uploaders or submitters and approvers we’ll work through that detail again. But that’s essentially how we intend it to work. And hopefully you agree that will work.
Cathy Milfull:
Sounds good. I think we’ve got a few other consent type questions Rog. From David.
Q: How often would the Department expect consent to be updated and what form of evidence would be required after 1 July?
Roger can correct me if I’m wrong but I think David this really is a transitional process. So effectively we’re asking for consent for the client to provide this information to us as part of this transitional process to upload their data. After that if you like they will kind of be in the mainstream of aged care arrangements. Their data will be in part of My Aged Care. So I don’t think there’s any need for you to then take any further action to update consent. This is really a one off process she says, although we’re doing it in three little tranches. But it is a one off process. So I don’t think Rog, unless you disagree, that there’s any other action that would be needed there.
Win from WA I think asked:
Q: What is expected consent threshold?
So Rog I don’t know if there’s anything you wanted to advise here. Win we certainly provided some advice with assistance from our legal colleagues around things to be careful of in terms of consent and obviously capacity figures into that. If someone has not got the capacity to give consent then we need to get their relevant supporter or representative to do so. Noting that will be different in different jurisdictions. So I’m not sure I can give an exact answer on that but certainly we’re happy to provide some more guidance if you feel like what’s there in that information sheet is not sufficient. Rog is there anything else you think we should add there?
Roger Hunt:
Look I think that’s right. The guidance material, so specifically the fact sheet but also the collection notice which again we would recommend be made available to the individual – and again we’re more than happy to help providers and sites make that information available by giving hard copies because we assume that might make it a bit easier – but both of those guidance materials indicate I suppose to put it bluntly what the risk to the client may be if consent were not to be given. So I think really the approach is one of encouraging consent to be given because if that were not to be the case then some issues would likely arise downstream for the client and probably just make things a little bit more – not necessarily difficult but would certainly mean that they had to engage with the administrative part of the system again and perhaps even with more complexity.
Cathy Milfull:
Yeah. Thanks Rog. And I think that’s right. So obviously if people don’t give consent we can give some more information on this where you have problems. But essentially it is likely that that person will then actually have to if you like start from scratch after 1 July, apply for aged care services again and go through an assessment. Obviously that’s going to be more work for them, potentially frustrating for the person. So it is in their interest to provide consent either from them or their representative. So hopefully in most cases they will see the benefit to them but I do appreciate there will be some difficult cases. And look we’re very happy to work through those scenarios with you.
Now more questions. We like this. We’ve got a question I think from Monique, New South Wales.
Q: How can we provide feedback on tranche 2B after COB today?
Look Monique very happy for you to send that directly to me if you can’t submit it via the link. We’re still of course keen to hear from you and we’ll do our best to make sure that gets included and considered in any finalisation of the rules, noting the timeframes are tight. So the sooner that you can get it to us the better, and Kate and I can bolt upstairs.
Ashley.
Q: For those MPS sites with an offsite lodge is it preferable that they submit a separate spreadsheet for client data collection?
Ashley that’s actually a really good question. I think probably at the moment my answer is no. You can do it altogether. You’re like the one MPS site from our perspective at the moment. So I think you’ll be able to submit that one workbook. As some of you might be aware though the team have also been working with all of you to get the details of those kind of split sites and that’s a process that we need to go through in the next couple of weeks to determine not for now but in the new world will those actually be separate residential care homes in the new world or will they be one that’s split. So that might impact things in the future but I think for this data collection process for now I would just suggest we keep it simple.
We’ve got another. Cathy.
Q: Could we have a fact sheet and some scenarios and a flowchart on charging accommodation so that the rules are clear?
Yep Cathy. Happy to look at that. I think I would recommend the website link just because we tried to make it really simple so clients could understand. But yeah happy to do that. Actually what might be good team too for me is we share that with Services Australia so they’re clear on the advice that we’re giving as well. But it doesn’t exist Cathy in short but we’ll have a look at that. And also our new MPS policy manual will explain how this works as well in more detail.
Also from Cathy.
Q: If residents are already on My Aged Care do they need to be on the workbook?
I guess yes Cathy. The short answer is probably yes but you might remember when we talked about transitionals before the workbook actually contains different worksheets for different cohorts of people and really that depends on whether they have had a previous assessment, so an ACAT for example or not, and the extent of information that you provide will depend on which cohort they fall into. So I’m making an assumption here but if they’re on MAC they may well have had an assessment which means that you will have to provide potentially less information in our workbook. But yes we still need to know. And we will be doing our best to work with other policy teams to make sure where we’ve kind of got a mix of – where a client’s been involved in different aged care programs we will do our best to try and coordinate the advice that comes back to that client.
Roger Hunt:
And if I might just jump in there. So further too, the workbook does actually also contain a field which asks for – if you have it, if it’s obtainable – an aged care client identifier. So somebody who’d been or who’s registered within MAC or with MAC should have one of those identifiers. And if you’re able to obtain it, great. If you can’t, well that’s okay too. It will help wherever we can get them. It will help to match an existing record to the client so that there’s no duplication, avoiding any of that kind of problem. So hopefully that helps.
In the workbook you probably will have noticed that on the last tab there are a bunch of definitions which will help explain the terms that are within the workbook itself. Thanks.
Cathy Milfull:
Thanks Rog. And the more we can get those MAC IDs and stuff obviously the better we can minimise any duplicate records in our system. So we do appreciate you providing that where you can.
I think we’re getting close to time. I’m just looking at other questions. We’ve got a comment from David. Thank you David. And I very much do appreciate – David’s just talking about the massive changes. We understand there is so much going on. We know it’s difficult. And I acknowledge when you’re getting these things in tranches sometimes it’s also difficult to work out how all this fits together and what the exact impacts are on your MPS services. So this is why we’re having the webinars. This is why we’ll keep talking through. We’re trying to call out the bigger changes for MPS. Overall a lot of things of course will be staying the same. But we do want to get your feedback. And we appreciate not everyone can read 150 pages of the rules or would want to so hopefully the tables etcetera that we’re giving you at least can get you the ability to kind of jump in and look at that particular issue. But if you’re concerned or just things are too confusing, please just feel free to drop us a line and we will do our best to assist.
I think there might just be a few more questions in the chat before we go. Let me just check.
Q: Is the Health Data Portal Roger the same portal we submit our annual activity reports?
Do you know?
Roger Hunt:
I don’t believe that it is. I don’t think so.
Online Participant:
Cathy I can jump in there.
Cathy Milfull:
Carina’s actually answered.
Online Participant:
It’s through Qualtrix.
Roger Hunt:
So not quite the same. No.
Cathy Milfull:
Not quite the same. All right. Is there any other questions panel or team that we’ve missed? I think we’ve got to them all.
Online Participant:
I’ve done a quick check Cathy. It looks like we’ve covered them all.
Roger Hunt:
Sorry. I am noticing one from Andrea. Did we get to that? Andrea Bonderson asks about the new section on the rules and obligations.
Cathy Milfull:
Yes. We got to that one. So that’s good. All right. Well if nothing else thank you everybody for your epic participation on a Friday afternoon. All the questions we really appreciate it, and as I said, if more things come up please just send them through to the mailbox. We’ll help where we can. But we really do appreciate your engagement and you really help to make this a better process for older people in MPS in particular. So thanks everyone. Take care and we hope you have a lovely weekend as well. All right. Bye.
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