You might have seen our AN-ACC FAQ in the lead up the October 1 – but now that AN-ACC is here we are getting a lot of questions around Care Minutes.
Care Minutes can be overwhelming when there are so many factors involved! We make it our business to find out everything we can for you, so we’ve prepared a Care Minutes-focused FAQ, based on information directly available from the Department as well as written confirmation from the Department provided to us during our investigations!
Is there something missing from here that you would like to know? Send us any questions that you would like an answer to and we will do our best to find out for you!
What are Care Minutes?
Based on the AN-ACC Classification of a Resident, Care Minutes are a targeted resource provision of care that has been attributed to each Classification.
This resource provision is the expected amount of direct care time a Resident with each Classification would be expected to require in a 24-hour period.
Care Minutes are expected to average about 200 mins per day per Resident, with 40 of these minutes being made up of Registered Nurse time, as outlined by the Royal Commission.
You can read the Department’s Care Minutes Fact Sheet here.
Do Respite Residents also attract Care Minutes?
Yes, Respite Residents also attract Care Minute targets, based on their Classification.
What care staff work makes up Care Minutes?
In their Care Minutes FAQ, the Department explicitly states that the following types of care staff will be included in Care Minute calculations:
- registered nurses (registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia)
- enrolled nurses (registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia)
- personal care staff/ assistants in nursing.
‘Worked hours’ of registered nurse, enrolled nurse, and personal care worker staff will count towards care minutes. This excludes staff leave time and training.
Only the portion of time that care management staff and staff in hybrid roles spend on care of residents can be included in care minutes.
Source: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/08/what-are-care-minutes.pdf
How do I report my Facility’s Care Minutes?
The Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) commenced as a new reporting requirement for Providers from July 2022. The data provided in this report will be used to determine if Facilities have met their Care Minute targets. You can find our more about reporting Care Minutes in the Department’s Quarterly Financial Report FAQs here and the ‘Why is reporting care staffing minutes important?’ Fact Sheet
When are Care Minutes mandated from?
In response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Final Report, the Government is introducing mandatory Care Minute standards for Residential Aged Care.
Care Minutes will count towards a Facility’s star rating from December 2022 and will be a mandated requirement (200 minutes, including 40 minutes registered nurse time) from 1 October 2023 in line with the Pillars of Aged Care Reform. Mandatory Care Minutes standards will increase to 215 minutes, including 44 minutes of Registered Nurse time from 1 October 2024.
How do Care Minute targets work?
Care Minute targets are calculated quarterly. It is important to note that Care Minute targets are an average over all Residents in care. Although AN-ACC classifications dictate the Care Minutes for an individual, it is the average over the Facility that we must target. We do not need to provide specific times per Resident.
Care Minute targets are based on the classifications and occupancy of the previous quarter, therefore changes to Classifications will impact on the next quarter’s Care Minute average.
Care Minutes are static throughout the quarter.
How do I access my Care Minute targets?
Your Care Minute targets are accessed via the My Aged Care Services and Support Portal. You can follow this guide here to show you how to access: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/videos/australian-national-aged-care-classification-an-acc-accessing-care-minutes-targets-in-the-my-aged-care-service-and-support-portal
Although the targets are not mandatory until 1 October 2023, the targets indicate the amount of care that will need to be delivered. The mandatory Care Minutes will be based on the Residents in care over the prior 3 months to 1 October 2023.
How are Care Minutes Calculated?
Let’s look at this example:
A 10-bed Facility has a case mix of:
- 3 Residents with classification level 6, they were in care for 90 days
- 2 Residents with classification level 11, they were in care for 72 days each
- 5 Residents with classification level 8, they were in care for 83 days each
To calculate the target for the next quarter, the total Care Minutes needs to be divided by the total number of day in care so;
164,396 ÷ 829 = 198.3
Therefore, the Facility will need to provide, on average 198.3 minutes of care per day for each Resident in care, 37.5 minutes of this time being a Registered Nurse.
You can read more about how Care Minutes are calculated in the Department’s Fact Sheet here.
When will the Care Minute targets be released each quarter?
As per written confirmation from the Department:
‘Care Minutes targets will be calculated and released for each quarterly period on the 14th of the first month of each quarter.’
Please see table provided by the Department for exact Care Minutes release dates:
Schedule for Release of Care Minutes Targets:
How are Care Minute targets impacted by Default Residents receiving their AN-ACC Classification early in a new quarter, when targets are about to be released?
Let’s provide an example: If a Resident enters care towards the end of the quarter, say 20/03/2023, but has their AN-ACC Assessment completed on 03/04/2023 and backdated to 20/03/2023. If the Care Minute Targets for the quarter beginning 01/04/2023 have not yet been released, will they be impacted by this Resident’s backdated AN-ACC Classification?
As per written confirmation from the Department:
‘Care minutes targets are backdated to the date a resident enters care if the AN-ACC classification is known at the time of calculation (i.e. before the 14th of the first month of following quarter). However, if the resident’s classification is not known when the care minutes targets are calculated, these are not included in this quarter’s calculation.
As per [the] example, as the AN-ACC assessment has been completed (on the 03/04/2023) before the care minutes target calculation (14/04/23) had been done, this residents care minutes would be included in the target. If the assessment was done on 15 April and backdated to 20/3/23 then it would miss the cut-off for the calculation and not be counted until next quarter.’
How are Default Residents included in Care Minute target calculations?
As per written confirmation from the Department:
- The average case-mix adjusted care minutes target for each facility for each quarter that providers are required to deliver and report on, does not include default class residents and based on residents’ case mix classifications data from the previous quarter.
For the purposes of care minutes reporting, providers are required to deliver their average case-mix adjusted care minutes target to all of their residents across their facility as a whole.
What are the consequences of not meeting the mandated Care Minutes average when it comes into effect?
As per written confirmation from the Department:
“The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) will examine the data provided by the Department on care minutes and RN shift coverage alongside other regulatory intelligence held by the ACQSC to identify risk relating to individual services and providers. The regulatory program will follow the ACQSC’s risk-based and proportionate approach, and will target services deemed to be at highest risk. Where the ACQSC has serious concerns about a service’s compliance, the ACQSC may issue a non-compliance notice requiring the provider to take specific actions, and/or may take proportionate enforcement action. Provider performance against care minute requirements is also one of the measurable indicators that will be used to inform a new star rating system to be published on the My Aged Care website from December 2022.”
How do Care Minutes impact Star Ratings?
Care Minutes will be used as one of the measurable indicators for the star rating system on the My Aged Care website. The star rating system will be available to view for each facility in Australia from December 2022. Please refer to the image below to demonstrate how Care Minutes impact star ratings.
Just to put it into perspective, this is how your Care Minutes Star Rating feeds into your overall Star Rating:
Got a question you can’t see here? Reach out to us on 1300 419 119 or submit your question here at any time!
Mathew Brincat
General Manager - Clinical & Quality
