✦ Plain-English Summary

Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Improved Home Care Payment Administration No. 1) 2020

What it does

The government is tightening how it pays aged care providers for home care services. Providers now only get paid for the days they're actually eligible to deliver care, and they have to submit a formal claim to get paid at all.

Why it matters

This prevents aged care providers from claiming government subsidies for periods when they shouldn't be paid—for example, if they've lost their accreditation or aren't meeting eligibility requirements. It's designed to make sure taxpayer money for home care goes only where it should.

Key details

• Payment eligibility: Aged care providers lose payment for any days during a payment period when they're no longer eligible to provide care
• Claims requirement: Providers must submit a formal claim to the government secretary to receive payment—no claim, no payment
• Affected parties: This applies to all approved home care providers, both in the main Aged Care Act and transitional provisions
• Commencement: The changes take effect on a date to be set by the government, but no later than 6 months after the bill receives Royal Assent

Official Description

Amends the Aged Care Act 1997 and Aged Care (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 to change home care subsidy from being paid to an approved provider in advance of the home care services being delivered to a consumer, to a payment made in arrears after the services have been delivered.

Committee Referrals

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

No votes yet.

No votes were recorded for this bill.