The full rollout of consumer directed care, the beginning of the Commonwealth Home Support Program, and the start of the My Aged Care Regional Assessment Service and client record; These were among the reform milestones that officially came into effect this week with the long-awaited 1 July deadline.

For many aged care providers the official switch to CDC across home care packages comes after years of pilot program participation in preparation. However, recognising that not all providers were ready, the government provided last-minute transition assistance for the sector.

Reform milestones: As of 1 July…
• Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) now provides entry-level aged care home support services, bringing together Commonwealth Home and Community Care (HACC), planned respite from the National Respite for Carers Program, Day Therapy Centres and Assistance with Care and Housing for the Aged
• The final versions of the CHSP Manual, CHSP Guidelines and Living well at home: CHSP Good Practice Guide are now available on the DSS website
• All home care packages now to be delivered on a CDC basis
• Changes to My Aged Care including the introduction of a client record, the My Aged Care Regional Assessment Service (RAS) conducting face-to-face assessments for entry to CHSP, a nationally consistent screening and assessment process, and the ability for providers to manage information about their services via the My Aged Care provider portal.
• My Aged Care has also been added to the myGov portal for government services including Medicare and the ATO
• The residential care subsidy is no longer paid to an approved aged care provider on behalf of a resident who is on pre-entry leave
• Places under the new short-term restorative care program are now included in the aged care provision ratio
• Schedules for residential and home care fees, charges and supplements have been updated in line with changes to the basic age pension and indexation rates. The Maximum Permissible Interest Rate (MPIR) also changed effective 1 July

And what hasn’t happened…
• Informed by community feedback, the government decided not to proceed with a mandatory fees schedule for the CHSP from 1 July. Instead a fees framework with principles that providers can adopt in setting their fees will be established