Industry discussions around Care Minutes often focus on reclassifications, departures, and new admissions. Yet there is another area of care classification that does not always receive the same attention in decision-making: respite care.
At first glance, respite use looks like a flexible tool for providers. It keeps beds filled, supports families, and often serves as a bridge to permanent care. However, its impact on care-minute calculations is less straightforward – and deserves closer consideration when shaping a respite strategy.
When Respite Inflates the Future
Consider a 100-bed service. A resident enters on Respite Class 102, attracting 196 total minutes and 42 RN minutes per day. If that resident uses the full 63 days of respite before becoming permanent and is then assessed as a Class 5 (159 total minutes and 32 RN minutes), the reference quarter embeds a higher level of care than is ultimately needed.
For example:
((63 × 196) + (27 × 159)) ÷ 90 = 184.9 minutes
In the following quarter, if no further movements occur, the service is funded and expected to provide 184.9 minutes per day. But with the resident assessed as Class 5, the actual care requirement is only 159 minutes. The result: 25.9 minutes per day above funding, sustained across the quarter.
For one resident, this may appear modest. But scale it across multiple conversions, and the inflation effect quickly compounds – particularly where respite movements are inconsistent.
The Power of Fluctuations
Consistency and fluctuation paint very different pictures:
- With a constant three Respite 102 residents across a reference quarter, the embedded change is steady. The uplift is predictable and less likely to drive major swings in targets.
- In contrast, a fluctuating use – say, 2 residents in month one, 6 in month two, 3 in month three – averages to 3.67 residents. That mid-quarter spike raises the overall average and effectively bakes in an inflated care-minute requirement for months to come.
Although the facility may end up with a similar number of permanent residents at the start of the next quarter, the timing of respite occupancy skews the averages – and leaves providers carrying obligations long after the respite stay has ended.
The point is not to “avoid respite,” but to acknowledge that short bursts of high respite occupancy can ripple forward into systemic obligations.
Beyond the Numbers: Strategic Questions for Providers
If the arithmetic shows that respite shapes future care-minute targets, the next step is to reflect on what this means for strategy. Some thought-provoking questions include:
a) Occupancy vs. Compliance
Is the short-term benefit of filling beds with respite outweighed by the longer-term inflation of care-minute targets?
b) Conversion Pathways
Respite is often a precursor to permanent care. Do facilities map likely conversion profiles – including expected AN-ACC permanent classes – before offering extended respite?
c) Workforce Sustainability
Additional care-minute requirements translate directly into staffing demand, particularly RN time. What are the implications for overtime, agency reliance, and staff wellbeing?
d) Reputation and Ratings
Care minutes drive star ratings and, from October 2025, will be linked to funding reductions in some services. How could respite strategies affect public performance and compliance standing?
e) Current vs. Ongoing Funding
In some cases, respite attracts higher funding during the reference period than the eventual permanent classification. Does the immediate financial benefit outweigh the potential uplift in future care-minute requirements?
f) Respite Care and the Accommodation Supplement
Respite Residents will receive a Respite Accommodation Supplement at the Supported Ratio Incentive rate, irrespective of whether your supported ratio is >=40%. This, coupled with (e) can result in a funding boost for a period of time that may cover increase to care minutes.
Respite can also be used to give a Resident time to complete their means-testing. This can be especially useful for Residents with complex assessments. Guaranteed Accommodation Supplement and AN-ACC revenue will mean you won’t need to levy and adjust large sums a couple of months after admission.
Final Thoughts
Respite remains a cornerstone of aged care strategy. But under the AN-ACC and care-minutes regime, it is no longer neutral. Fluctuating occupancy, conversion timing, and permanent class outcomes all ripple forward into quarterly targets.
The challenge for providers is one of balance – understanding how decisions taken now may alter obligations later. Is consistency preferable, or do broader organisational movements and entitlements dampen the effect of fluctuations allowing for variation in respite allocations to still be the better option for the provider.
Perhaps the most important question remains:
What does your respite strategy say about your future obligations, and how prepared are you to carry them?
Mathew Brincat
Chief Clinical Officer
Shavin Perera
Funding & Performance Partner
