Rigorous and Thorough Aged Care Compliance
Brown Assurance Services approaches every aged care project with complete focus. The Australian government has successfully created awareness for better aged care over the last decade. With stronger controls and high-quality governance in place, accountability is a cornerstone of the new system.
With these high standards in mind, we review and simplify current policies to ensure consistency across all staff. Internal systems and audit schedules are determined to ensure potential problems are identified earlier rather than later. We provide evidence gathering techniques to improve audit quality, as well as training on the latest Aged Care Standards.
Different Types of Aged Care Assessments
The Commission uses many different terms when it comes to assessment. Here are some that are commonly used.
Site Audit
The re-accreditation process requires the successful passing of a site audit. An assessment team will visit a service’s location to conduct an in-depth assessment of the service’s compliance with the Standards to determine if the service should be re-accredited. A site audit will always take place without any prior notice.
Review Audit
A Review Audit might occur if the Commission suspects a service is not complying with the Standards or if a service has requested reconsideration of a decision made against them.
Quality Review
This is the Commission’s term for a review of home services. It does not apply to residential care services.
Assessment Contact
Covers any kind of assessment except Site Audit, Review Audit and Quality Review. It includes contact by phone and writing, and any visit to the service’s premises that is not as all-encompassing as a site or review audit.
Self-Assessment
As part of the re-accreditation process a service must submit a Self-Assessment that demonstrates their performance, measured against the Standards.
Challenges in The Aged Care Industry
The aged care industry in Australia provides several different services to elderly people. It accounts for a significant contribution to the Australian economy. It currently serves over 1.3 million Australians and a large-scale employer. Despite increasing reform over recent years, the Aged care sector still faces many challenges, such as:
Financial Pressure:
The Aged care and Financial Authority (ACFA) recently suggested that the sector is facing increased financial pressure. Despite best intentions, and highly-trained staff, financial pressure can result in the standard of quality dropping suddenly. Regular internal and external audits by specialists ensure that the organisation is clear about its finances and is able to make appropriate decisions about budget allocation in lean times.
Regulations:
The aged care sector is set to continue to be one of the most regulated industries in Australia. The people are in agreement that this is the best way forward to ensure the best possible care for the elders of our society. Subsidies, licensing, assessment for aged care packages, auditing, etc have been reworked to ensure a high level of care. However, with aged care institutions tackling other challenges as well, the regulations can become a burden to manage. Many aged care centres turn to experienced external auditors to help them conduct a compliance audit with the latest legislation in mind.
Aged Care Compliance Services
In an industry that prioritises high standards, it can become very easy to make mistakes that could lead to a failed re-assessment. Call Brown Assurance Services today and let our team of experts give you an independent, unbiased audit of your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.