What is Council’s current role in the provision of aged care services?

My Aged Care provides the entry point to Australian Government–funded aged care services for the general public. Older Australians, their families and carers can access further information through the My Aged Care website or contact centre. Client eligibility for Council delivered aged care services is determined by the Victorian Regional Assessment Service (RAS) through face-to-face home support assessments of people seeking entry-level support services at home.

Council currently receives funding from the Commonwealth Government to deliver home care services to people living in our community via the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). The CHSP is a Commonwealth funded program that delivers entry level services to people who need basic assistance to remain living at home. The range of services includes:

• Domestic assistance
• Food services – meals on wheels
• In-house respite care
• Personal care
• Social support group
• Property maintenance and home modifications

In addition to the Commonwealth funded services Council also provides a broad range of services that support healthy ageing which encourages residents to feel safe, mobilise, live well, remain connected and independent in their community. These include:

• Home and Community Care Program for Younger People – funded by the Victorian Government to support individuals, who are 65 years and under (or 50 years and under for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), with daily tasks for to assist them to remain living independently at home and in the community.
• Social support programs and activities
• Community bus

From 1 July 2024 it is anticipated that eligible Central Goldfields Shire residents will have choice over who, how and where their services are delivered and will have the opportunity to choose an aged care provider that can deliver a range of services that suits their current and future needs and priorities. This may or may not be their current provider. For example, a resident may choose to have delivered meals by one provider and personal care by a different provider.

For Council to remain a provider of some or all community-based aged care services, it will need to compete for available funding, retain current clients and attract new clients to purchase its services to remain viable.

Council will also need to introduce changes to the way it currently manages and provides community aged care services to meet future regulatory requirements and to remain feasible in a new market environment.

Given the introduction of changes as a result of the aged care reform, Council needs to consider and respond to these future arrangements and explore how it may best meet the needs and aspirations of its older residents and ageing community now and into the future.

At this stage, residents and service recipients do not need to do anything. Council will keep the community updated on progress.

In saying this, you are encouraged to help Council better understand your views through completing the survey by 5pm, 17 February, 2023.

The Commonwealth government has been reforming the aged care sector for the past decade as part of its National Reform of Aged Care.

The Commonwealth determined reform was necessary to ensure the aged care sector can meet the needs of the ageing population in an efficient, fair and sustainable way, and also increase consumer choice.

Some changes have already taken place, such as the introduction of My Aged Care and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Under the current model, Council is responsible for entry-level client assessment and delivery of basic aged care support via the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP).

From July 1, 2024 the Support at Home (SAH) program will be a new, integrated program that will combine the CHSP and a range of other aged care programs. The SAH program will change the delivery of aged care services.

Council is currently seeking feedback on what the future of aged care services should like like in Central Goldfields Shire.