The new Charter of Aged Care Rights is now in effect and all providers have responsibilities, including to:
- give consumers a signed copy of the Charter
- assist consumers to understand the Charter
- ensure that consumers, or their authorised person, are given a reasonable opportunity to sign a copy of the Charter.
Timeframes for implementing these new requirements are:
- 1 July 2019 – all requirements apply to new care recipients of all aged care programs.
- 30 September 2019 – all requirements apply to existing consumers of:
- transition care
- multi-purpose services in a residential setting
- residential care
- short-term restorative care in a residential setting.
- 30 September 2019 – a copy of the Charter must be sent to all existing CHSP care recipients.
- 31 December 2019 – all requirements apply to existing consumers of:
- multi-purpose services in a community setting
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care
- home care
- short-term restorative care in a home setting.
- 30 June 2020 – existing CHSP care recipients must be helped to understand the Charter and be given a reasonable opportunity to sign a copy of the Charter.
The Department has provided information for CHSP providers about the following:
- your responsibilities under the Charter
- resources to help you, including a letter that you could use (or adapt) to inform your existing consumers about the Charter.
Further information and resources is available on the Department’s website