One of the biggest questions the Industry has is – what will 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). This starting price enables us a few insights.
The Budget Announcement also revealed 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)
- Current ACFI Basic Subsidy Funding (including 1 July 2022 indexation)
AN-ACC Assessors will visit your Facility and assess your Residents using this assessment tool.
Rather than them completing a comprehensive clinical assessment, they will use your clinical documentation, Resident and carer observation and interview to compile the assessments. This means that you have a significant opportunity to influence your funding and make sure you’re receiving your entitlements – this is not the AN-ACC Assessor’s responsibility.
They will submit the assessment results into the assessor portal. The Department’s system will use its algorithms to allocate a classification. The Department has indicated they DO NOT intend to release these algorithms and the AN-ACC Assessors are not privy to this information.
Once a classification as been assigned, the following formula determines your funding:
National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU)
Funding will 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 refers to the value of the National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU).
More than ACFI!
As per 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.
Even though it is exciting that all indications point towards increases in funding, it all comes with significant compliance increases in line with the 5 pillars of the Aged Care reforms. So, even if your analysis says you’ll be better off – be cautious as you will not be comparing apples with apples and will need to consider:
- The additional costs under the 5 Pillars of Aged Care Reform
- The supplements that are being rolled into AN-ACC including the Homeless & Viability supplements.
Using $216.80 makes the AN-ACC rates look like:
