Law firm Russell Kennedy is warning aged care operators to act quickly if they have not already transitioned their pre-1 July 2019 consumers over to the new pricing rules.

Since 1 July 2019, providers have been required to publish their Standard Pricing Schedule on the My Aged Care website and include this in their agreements.

There has also been a ban on charging administration fees – instead providers are entitled to charge a “package management fee”.

If a client is paying a different fee to the amounts in the Standard Pricing Schedule (whether higher or lower), the reason must be set out in their agreement.

Russell Kennedy Principals Anita Courtney and Solomon Miller (pictured above) say for existing clients, these changes must be done “by mutual consent following adequate consultation”. Any changes to services fees must also be consulted on.

“It is not enough to simply notify clients of the changes by sending them a letter, consultation must occur. There is no requirement that the consultation take place in person, however there should at least be a phone discussion with the client to give them the opportunity to understand the changes and ask questions.”

They suggest one approach could be to write to the consumer, explain the proposed changes to their fees and attach the price schedule and then after an appropriate period, contact the client to discuss it with them.

“In this, we suggest using a checklist to ensure your staff cover the key points,” they say.

“Send a follow up letter or agreement that they can sign agreeing to the changes.”

But if clients refuse to sign, there will be compliance issues for the provider as the legislation does not allow for this and they will need to seek legal advice, the pair says.

You can read the full insight here.