Ahead of the 1 July 2019 deadline, the law firm has issued a warning that home care, residential care, CHSP, STRC and brokered services/contractor agreements must be updated to reflect the new Quality Standards, Charter of Rights and Pricing Schedule requirements.
Russell Kennedy’s Anita Courtney and Solomon Miller (pictured) says some aged care providers have asked whether they should be putting the new Charter in their agreements now (i.e. prior to 1 July 2019).
“We would caution against this, unless you also include the current Charter of Rights and Responsibilities and make it clear that the New Charter doesn’t apply until 1 July 2019,” they state.
The firm says they are also receiving several queries on how and when providers roll out the new Charter with existing consumers.
“We generally suggest that this be done by way of a face-to-face meeting together with a brief letter which explains the impact. One thing providers may wish to seek advice on is how to ensure the ‘responsibilities’ section of the Charter which is reflected in the current agreements can be preserved, given that they have been removed from the new Charter,” they state.
Providers have until 30 September 2019 to roll out the new Charter to existing residential care clients and until 31 December 2019 for existing home care clients.
The lawyers add that rolling out the new Pricing Schedule for existing home care clients may prove more complex.
“Providers may need to manage this according to the terms of their current home care client agreements, which may include seeking the client’s consent, following ‘adequate mutual consultation’.”
The deadline for this requirement is 1 July 2020.
