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Aged care update archive
Use this archive for earlier source-linked records. Check the official source and its checked date before changing a document or workflow.
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Published by Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
ACQSC pricing bulletin update for Support at Home
Bulletin #6 updates Support at Home pricing guidance for service agreements, monthly statements, individualised budgets, care management, and directly sourced services. It also announces a July 2026 targeted review of the Liquidity Standard for selected Category 6 non-government providers.
Source checked
Open official source (opens in a new tab)Document and workflow checks
- Check whether service agreement, price discussion, monthly statement, and care management records have separate owners.
- Review whether staff know where to record participant price or statement questions.
- Keep care management activity notes separate from direct service price records.
- If Category 6 applies, assign an owner for the Liquidity Management Strategy and the evidence trail used for the targeted review.
- Record the official source link and source checked date inside internal review notes.
Related CaresLink resources
Usage boundary
This tracker does not decide whether a price, charge, claim, or agreement process is correct.
Published by Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Higher Everyday Living Fees: optional agreements and transition checks
The Commission's 11 August webinar materials reinforce existing Higher Everyday Living Fee boundaries; they do not announce a new August rule. A HELF agreement is optional, cannot be a condition of entering residential care, and cannot be entered into before the person enters care. A standing agreement gives the resident a 28-day cooling-off period. After that, either party may vary or terminate with 28 days' notice; any permitted unavoidable-cost recovery is separate and may run for no more than 90 days after the notice ends or termination takes effect. A standing agreement must be reviewed at least every 12 months, and an agreed amount may be replaced on 1 July only when the statutory CPI-based factor is greater than 1 and the prescribed formula is applied. Existing extra service and additional service fee arrangements have a transition period to 31 October 2026 and are no longer valid from 1 November 2026. Required Residential Care Service List services cannot be shifted into HELF. Each HELF service must be available to buy individually. A bundle may include an item a resident cannot use only where genuine individual choice remains and the resident is not worse off than buying the usable items separately. The Commission's first complaints newsletter uses incorrect HELF charges as a complaint example; it does not decide that every disputed charge is wrong or that a refund is automatic.
Document and workflow checks
- Keep HELF offers separate from admission conditions and required Residential Care Service List services, and do not obtain a HELF agreement before the person enters care.
- Record the offered individual services, bundle components, individual and bundle prices, resident choice, agreement date, standing-agreement 28-day cooling-off end date, post-cooling 28-day notice, and any separately evidenced unavoidable-cost recovery.
- For a bundle containing an item the resident cannot use, confirm each item can be bought separately and that the resident is not worse off than buying the usable items individually.
- Schedule a standing-agreement review at least every 12 months and use the 1 July statutory factor and prescribed-formula pathway before replacing an agreed amount.
- Identify any extra service or additional service fee arrangement using the transition period to 31 October 2026 and obtain authorised advice on the correct next arrangement before changing charges or agreements.
- Route a disputed HELF service or charge through the provider's approved complaint process, preserve the agreement and charging evidence, and record any correction, open disclosure, Commission contact, or improvement action without promising a refund outcome.
Related CaresLink resources
Usage boundary
The 11 August materials explain existing HELF settings and are not a new commencement instrument. CaresLink does not decide whether a service, bundle, agreement, price, transition, cancellation, refund, or correction complies and does not provide residential care, financial, legal, regulatory, or professional advice.
Published by Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
First Nations aged care commissioner and culturally safe care direction
The Government released its response to the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner's report and introduced a Bill proposing a permanent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner. The immediate CaresLink document angle is communication clarity, family or representative records, and internal briefing ownership.
Source checked
Open official source (opens in a new tab)Document and workflow checks
- Check whether communication records capture preferred contact path, language support, and family or representative involvement.
- Review public provider profiles for clear service area and language information.
- Assign an owner for culturally safe communication prompts and staff briefing notes.
- Do not turn public profile wording into claims about suitability, endorsement, or cultural competence.
Related CaresLink resources
Usage boundary
CaresLink does not verify cultural safety, provider suitability, or service quality.
Published by Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Support at Home monthly statement resources
Monthly statements are a visible participant-facing record. Providers should keep the statement workflow separate from invoices, progress notes, and price discussion records.
Source checked
Open official source (opens in a new tab)Document and workflow checks
- Record statement period, service records checked, and owner responsible.
- Separate monthly statement questions from invoice or payment adjustment records.
- Create a follow-up note path for participant or representative questions.
- Check that care management and direct service records are not mixed together.
Related CaresLink resources
Usage boundary
CaresLink does not replace provider software settings, finance review, or official monthly statement guidance.