The Greens welcome the introduction of the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Financial Transparency) Bill 2020. This Bill represents an important step towards increased financial transparency and accountability in aged care, by requiring providers to make annual public financial transparency reports about their expenditure on areas such as accommodation, staff salaries and wages, operating costs, and payments to related bodies corporate.
There is widespread support for increased financial transparency from consumer groups, unions and older Australians.
In the past, there have been no requirements for providers to disclose how much money is actually spent on care. Some aged care providers also have opaque corporate structures which make it difficult to link money spent with care provided. This lack of transparency has no doubt allowed providers to get away with providing substandard care.
The Greens acknowledge that the Government has made some commitments to improving financial transparency and accountability. This includes the requirement to disclose how much is being spent on daily living services like food, nutrition, linen and cleaning, in return for the $10 increase in the daily basic fee. In addition, providers will be required to report financial information on a quarterly basis from July 2022. However, the design and scope of these quarterly reports are still being finalised by the Department of Health.
We also recognise that the measures in this Bill may need amending. For example, some submitters noted that the categories of staff wages, lifestyle, and third-party reporting are missing from the current Bill. We understand the Senator Griff is open to amending the Bill to accommodate stakeholder suggestions.
While the measures in this Bill are not perfect, they represent a crucial first step towards increased financial transparency and could act as an interim measure while the Government is working through implementing its reform agenda. This Bill would provide us with a better understanding of any possible gaps in care, quality and safety for the time being.
As noted by the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation:
… the ANMF considers that this legislation should serve as a mechanism to hold aged-care providers receiving government funding to account for the acquittal of those funds and subsequently the quality of care provided.
The Greens urge the Government to consider this Bill as an interim measure to increase financial transparency and accountability while they implement widespread reforms.
Measures to improve financial transparency in aged care will fall short unless the Government acts to clarify that information about aged care services under Section 86-9 of the Aged Care Act is not considered to be 'protected information'. Key information about an aged care facility, such as fees, staffing levels, and services, should be made publicly available. The Greens, alongside COTA Australia, continue to call for reforms to these provisions which stop older Australians and their loved ones from gaining information about aged care facilities.
At the public hearing, the Department of Health noted that:
… the government has accepted the royal commission's recommendation to amend the legislation which currently precludes the release of information on the grounds that it relates to the affairs of an approved provider.
The Greens will be watching these developments closely and push for information about aged care facilities to be made publicly available.
The Greens are concerned with the committee view expressed in the majority report that:
The committee is satisfied that the changes proposed in the Australian Government's aged care reform plan will provide the transparency and quality of care reporting sought by aged care recipients, their families, advocates and the community more broadly, without requiring the current bill.
It is clear that more needs to be done urgently to support transparency and accountability across the entire aged care sector now.
We call on the Government to consider this Bill and work with the Department and stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability now.