Closed ATM View - Health/20-21/07106
Training and testing services to support residential aged care classification assessments
A new aged care classification system, the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), has been developed by the Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI) at the University of Wollongong, in consultation with clinical experts in health and aged care.
The proposed AN-ACC model comprises a new care recipient Assessment tool, classification system and funding model. The implementation of this would represent significant change for the residential aged care sector in relation to: distribution of funding according to individual residents’ needs; introduction of fixed and variable funding elements; incentives for reablement and restorative care; and external Assessment workforce requirements.
The AN-ACC Assessment model focusses on independently capturing the core attributes of a resident that drive care costs in residential aged care, and is not a comprehensive Assessment of a resident’s care needs. The study that developed AN ACC identified the following key drivers of care costs in residential care: palliative care; mobility, function, and frailty; cognition, communication, behaviour and mental health; wound risk; and technical nursing.
In 2018-19, as part of the study that developed the AN-ACC system, a version of the assessment model was trialled in almost 200 aged care homes nationally. In 2019 20, a more developed version of the AN-ACC assessment model was trialled across a larger population of care recipients at over 120 aged care homes nationally.
Following from these activities, the Government has announced it will fund one year of ‘shadow assessment’, starting in the first half of 2021. During this year all residents in aged care will be assessed by an external assessor using the AN-ACC assessment tool and placed in an AN-ACC funding class.
Assessors (comprised of Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Registered Nurses) employed by one or more contracted assessment management organisations will be required to use the AN ACC Assessment Tool to complete Assessments of residential aged care recipients nationally during a target of 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022.
For the Department to approve an Assessor to carry out assessments on its behalf, each Assessor will be required to complete AN ACC training activities, including passing a written test.
Consistent with the year of ‘shadow Assessment’ of all residents in permanent residential aged care, respite residents will also be assessed into classes which could be used to form a component of their respite funding if the Australian Government agrees to implement AN-ACC. This would involve Aged Care Assessment Teams using one or two tools such as the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI) to place respite residents into three classes. ACATs will be required to complete equivalent training in the use of these tools as AN-ACC Assessors.
The Department requires provision of the Services for the period until 30 December 2021. If necessary, at its sole and absolute discretion, the Department may exercise its right under the Contract to extend the Contractor’s time to deliver the Services to not later than 30 June 2022.
A Registered Training Organisation (RTO) is required to provide training, testing and evaluation services, specifically to:
• develop and maintain AN-ACC Assessor training and testing materials
• develop and maintain ACAT respite assessment training materials
• attract, recruit, onboard and retain suitably qualified, experienced and Credentialed persons to fill necessary training positions
• train and test the initial AN-ACC assessor cohort, and subsequently train and test additional assessors as required, and
• train ACAT representatives in new respite classification arrangements and in use of tools for respite, and
• provide operational information to the Department through regular contract management meetings and reporting products, as required by the Department.
Tenderers are invited to submit a Tender to deliver the whole of the Services only. Tenderers must be in a position to begin delivering the Services from 18 December 2020.
1 The Tenderer must not have had any judicial decisions against it (excluding decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and have not satisfied any resulting order.
2 The Tenderer, its Personnel, and any Subcontractors proposed in the Tender must not, at the Closing Time, be listed as terrorists under section 15 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth).
3. The Tenderer (and any Subcontractor proposed in its Tender) must not be named in the consolidated list referred to in Regulation 40 the Charter of United Nations (Dealing with Assets) Regulations 2008 (Cth).
4. The Tenderer is a training organisation registered by the Australian Skills Quality Authority or a state regulator to deliver vocational education and training services.
18 December 2020 - 30 June 2022