Regional assessment services named for My Aged Care

Thirteen organisations have been selected to operate the new Regional Assessment Services (RAS) to coordinate face-to-face assessments of older people who may need support to remain living at home independently.

The RAS will replace current arrangements in which a myriad of organisations, including service providers, conduct assessments of older people's needs as part of the Home and Community Care (HACC) program.

HACC is being rolled into the $1.7 billion Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), along with the National Respite for Carers (NRCP), Day Therapy Centres (DTCs) and Assistance with Care and Housing for the Aged (ACHA) programs.

All new entrants into the federal aged care system from July 1 will receive an initial screening from a My Aged Care call centre and will be provided with a shared central client record.

Following the initial screening process, a referral notice will be sent to a RAS to notify them that an older person needs an assessment. The RAS will be able to view the referral and the central client record through a web portal.

Older people requiring assessments for higher intensity home care or residential aged care services will continue to be assessed by the existing Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs).

The Assistant Minister for Social Services in charge of aged care, Mitch Fifield, said older people would then be able to meet with an assessor and talk through their current circumstances and individual needs and goals.

“Importantly, home support assessments will be separated from service delivery to ensure the focus is on individuals’ needs and goals,” Senator Fifield said.

“For the first time, there will be a single point of entry into the aged care system to make it easier for older people to get access to the information and services they need to continue living independently in their own homes.”

Tenders for the RAS were held last year, with 10 of the 13 winning organisations already providing services under the HACC program. The 13 will work with over 75 subcontractor organisations, including for-profit and non-profit service providers, local councils, organisations with a background in the aged care services sector and organisations specialising in the delivery of assessment services across multiple sectors.

Senator Fifield said a number of specialist services and community organisations had formed consortia to offer tailored services for indigenous populations, culturally and linguistically diverse populations and people with dementia.

The 13 new RAS organisations are:

• Access Care Network Australia
• Australian Regional and Remote Community Services
• Care Assessment Consultants
• Catholic Healthcare
• Community Options Australia
• Feros Care
• Health Administration Corporation (HAC)
• Partners 4 Health
• Resthaven
• Serendipity
• Suncare Community Services
• The Uniting Church
• UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide.

Senator Fifield said the vast majority of regions will operate with between two and four organisations.

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