Of course, this is one of the most asked questions that we get around AN-ACC and understandably, a cause for anxiety when we don’t have all the definitive answers yet. We know that ambiguity is the uncomfortable part of change, however, these are the facts we do have of what we can expect.
What will the AN-ACC funding be?
In the 2022-2023 Budget Announcement, the Australian Government released the AN-ACC Funding model starting price as $216.80. The assumption has been made that the starting price refers to the value of the National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU).
How does AN-ACC funding work?
AN-ACC is a Casemix Classification tool – all Residents will be allocated a classification of 1 to 13 which will determine the funding. AN-ACC is a 2 tier payment system, comprising of:
1. A fixed payment per day for costs of care shared by Residents.
2. A variable payment per day, for the cost of individual care needs for each Resident based on their AN-ACC Casemix class (will be determined by the Shadow Assessment Period; and
° An initial ‘one-off adjustment’ payment for each new Resident, to cover any costs with settling in a new Resident entering Residential Aged Care – indications from the Department in their most recent webinar held on the 18th March 2022 are that this is likely to be 5.28 x NWAU but this is yet to be confirmed.
National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU)
Funding will likely be based on the National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU). The NWAU is essentially an expression of resource allocation. 1.0 NWAU will have a price attached to it. As stated above, it is assumed the ‘starting price’ of $216.80 released in the 2022-23 Budget refers to the value of the National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU).
More than ACFI!
Also as per the above written confirmation from the Department:
“The Government did announce in the Budget that significant funding uplifts through the Government Basic Daily Fee Supplement and funding to support Care Minutes will be paid through AN-ACC from 1 October 2022.”
This message was mirrored in a webinar presented in 2021 by Nigel Murray – Assistant Secretary in the Funding
Policy Reform Branch in the Aged Care Group of the Department of Health, in which he used $185 (the current Average ACFI rate) as the example for his explanation but went on to say that he expects NWAU to be more than ACFI. Our previous analyses were based on $185 as the NWAU as a conservative starting point.
The 2022-2023 Budget Announcement also released an estimate that the average Resident funding is expected to be approximately $225 per day.
It has been confirmed by the department that included in the starting price are the following funding elements:
- The $10 Basic Daily Fee Supplement per Resident per day
- The $3.9 B care minutes funding uplift
- The Homeless & Viability Supplements (including 1 July 2022 indexation)
Even though it is exciting that the starting price points towards increases in funding, it all comes with significant
compliance increases in line with the 5 pillars of the Aged Care reforms. For our analysis – we will be using $216.80 as per the starting price released.
With all this information, we can, for illustrative purposes base the rates on the NWAU being $216.80. You can find these below (click on the image to zoom in!)
This is a snapshot from our Phase 1 AN-ACC Analysis report. If you would like us to analyse the impact on your Organisation, call us on 1300 419 119 or reach out to team@providerassist.com.au
