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Amid new data showing occupancy has hit 95 per cent, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has announced an aged care accommodation census for residential providers.
Provider feedback will be used to build a national database on bed capacity and home locations, conditions and areas with supply pressures to inform funding allocation, address care shortages, reduce hospital stays and better support older Australians.
The department has published an example of the census, showing providers will be asked to supply information on:
- when the home was built
- what its building classification or building code is
- how many buildings the home is comprised of
- when it was last significantly refurbished or renovated
- when the last minor refurbishments were made.
- whether the home maintains an active wait list for permanent admissions
- how long the usual wait time is for a person on an active wait list, approximately
- prioritisation processes for admission
- how long a bed remains vacant once a resident leaves the home, on average.
The census also asks providers to confirm whether the auto-populated data held by the department in the Government Provider Management System is correct, such as:
- the total number of beds at the home, both online and offline
- reasons for why a bed is offline
- the number of single rooms with their own ensuite at the home
- the number of single rooms with a shared bathroom at the home.
Providers will also be asked how many residents a single room accommodates – in recognition that some single rooms are used for couple rooms – and for information on the number of shared rooms with their own ensuite.
Providers that offer non-couple dual occupancy or ward style shared rooms will also be asked to provide the number of residents in that style of room.
Towards the end of the census providers will also be asked about future building or expansion plans for each home, including whether there is room to add more beds or capacity for the home to expand, and what the expected remaining operational life of the home is.
Providers will receive a link to the census, but if one hasn’t been received by 2 August, the department has instructed providers to email ResidentialPlacesManagement@health.gov.au.
Participation takes around 30 minutes for each home. The census closes on 6 September.
The findings will be published later in the year.
Read more information and view the example census here.
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