Better Health Care Connections: Models for Short Term, More Intensive Health Care for Aged Care Recipients Program
Grant Program Guidelines
October 2012
Page | 1
Grant Program Guidelines – Better Health Care Connections: Models for Short Term, More Intensive Health Care for Aged Care Recipients.
Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of this document
1.2 Background and policy context
2. Overview of the Program
2.1 Aim
2.2 Objectives
2.3 Outcomes
2.4 What activities will be funded?
2.5 Integration with other health and aged care reforms
2.6 How will Program funding be administered?
2.7 Evaluation
2.8 Target group
2.9 Roles and responsibilities
2.10 Anticipated key dates
2.11 Monitoring of seed grants
3. Eligibility
3.1 Who is eligible to apply for funding?
3.2 Applications considered for funding?
4. Probity
4.1 Conflict of interest
4.2 Confidentiality and protection of personal information
5. How to apply
5.1 Obtaining an application
5.2 Application requirements
5.2.1 Proposed model
5.2.2 Project plan and budget
5.2.3 Project partners
5.2.4 Communication strategy
5.2.5 Risk management
5.2.6 Capability and capacity requirements
5.2.7 How to submit an application
6. Assessment
6.1 Assessment process
6.2 Assessment criteria
6.2.1 Eligibility criteria
6.2.2 Assessment criteria
7. Decisions
7.1 Approval of funding
7.2 Advice to applicants
7.3 Complaint handling
8. Conditions of funding
8.1 Contracting arrangements
8.2 Intellectual Property
8.3 Specific conditions
8.4 Payment arrangements
8.5 Reporting requirements
8.6 Monitoring
8.7 Evaluation
9. Glossary of terms
Attachment A: Existing funding platform……………………………………………………………………………………………………21
Attachment B: Operational aged care providers…………………………………………………………………………………………23
Attachment C: Integration with National Health Reform and aged care reform………………………………………….24
Attachment D: Diversification into a broader range of community and residential health care services…….25
Attachment E: Grant program process flowchart…………………………………………………………………………………..…..26
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of this document
Welcome to the Better Health Care Connections: Models for Short Term, More Intensive Health Care for Aged Care Recipients Program Guidelines 2012 (the Guidelines). The Guidelines are designed to provide details of the Better Health Care Connections: Models for Short Term, More Intensive Health Care for Aged Care Recipients Program (the Program), including information about the seed grants available, who can apply, how to apply, how to get support with applications, how applications are assessed and what successful applicants need to do.
1.2 Background and policy context
The Australian Government is building a better, fairer and more nationally consistent aged care system. The Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package provides $3.7 billion over five years. It represents the commencement of a 10 year reform program to create a flexible and seamless system that provides older Australians with more choice, control and easier access to a full range of services, where they want it and when they want it. It also positions the aged care system to meet the social and economic challenges of the nation’s ageing population.
The reforms give priority to providing more support and care in the home, better access to residential care, more support for those with dementia and strengthening of the aged care workforce. They have been progressively implemented from 1 July 2012 to give early benefits to consumers and providers but also to ensure there is a smooth transition for consumers and providers and sufficient time to adapt and plan ahead for further reform.
The Government has undertaken significant reform to the health system to bolster primary care and preventative care services to keep people out of hospital, to help people stay well in their community and importantly to ensure the health and wellbeing of Australians as they age. As part of Better Health Care Connections in the aged care reform package, the Government has a strong focus on building links between aged care and the health and hospitals systems.
You can find more information about the Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package on the Department’s website at
2. Overview of the Program
The Government is providing $25 million (including indexation) under the Program to support initiatives to encourage aged care providers to work with public and private health care providers and medical insurers to deliver short term, more intensive health care services. This will result in improved access to complex health care, including palliative and psycho- geriatric care. The Government is providing this funding over five years from 2012-13 to 2016-17 for seed grants to develop innovative models of health care services for aged care recipients.
2.1 Aim
The aim of the Program is to improve the quality of health care for aged care recipients.
2.2 Objectives
The Program’s objectives are to:
- develop innovative models to build better health care connections between existing health and aged care services, that are cost effective and improve the way the aged care system works within the broader health system;
- improve access to complex health care services for aged care recipients;
- increase awareness and information on successful models amongst aged care and health care service providers; and
- diversify the aged care sector to include more complex community and residential health care services for aged care recipients.
2.3 Outcomes
Program outcomes include:
- cost effective innovation models of health care that demonstrate that aged care recipients have received high quality health care;
- effective referral pathways between aged care and health care service providers that ensure that aged care recipients have improved access to health care;
- reduction of unnecessary hospital admissions and shortening of length of hospital stays for aged care recipients;
- improvement in the quality of health care services provided to aged care recipients; and
- development of a more skilled and flexible aged care sector.
2.4 What activities will be funded?
It is intended that operational aged care providers will undertake a number of tasks including:
- as a primary role, develop models to build partnerships and innovative ways of working to join up the range of short term, more intensive health care services within a local area/region from which aged care recipients may need assistance;
- undertake all establishment phase activities and be ready to start accepting aged care recipients for the short term, more intensive health care services; and
- develop promotional material to encourage the uptake of practice within the aged care sector in the long term.
Short term, more intensive health care services, such as palliative and psycho-geriatric care, may be provided to aged care recipients through:
- in-reach subacute care services provided by accredited hospitals in residential and community settings; and
- a broader range of more flexible and complex health care services provided in aged care homes and the community.
The health care services may range from hospital subacute services (those only provided by accredited hospitals) to a small number of simple interventions provided in aged care homes which potentially reduce unnecessary transfers to hospital.
As part of this arrangement operational aged care providers will continue to provide Specified Care and Services as required by the Aged Care Act 1997. Additional health care services will be provided by accredited hospitals, medical practitioners and other eligible health care providers using existing funding platforms (see Attachment A) and regulatory frameworks.
The provision of short term, more intensive health care in aged care homes will considerably enhance the flexibility of aged care delivery in residential settings and assist providers in delivering a wider range of such service offerings, and diversify their client and revenue base. For example, psychogeriatric services may include health care services for dementia and mild to moderate mental health, such as anxiety and depression.
It is important that additional health care services build on what older people can do rather than what they cannot do, such as enablement, re-ablement or restorative aged care. For example, better and more innovative connections can be made with directly related specific programs such as Transition Care and Day Therapy Centres and the palliative care innovative advisory services which provide access to specialist palliative care and advanced care planning expertise.
2.5 Integration with other health and aged care reforms
The Department will encourage operational aged care providers (see Attachment B) to form collaborations, consortia or partnerships to deliver projects, enabling Medicare Locals and Local Hospital Networks to actively participate in the Program. Joined-up or multi-regional approaches will be considered where appropriate. Successful seed grants should have demonstrated capacity to be integrated with other health and aged care reforms (for example Local Hospital Networks and Medicare Locals) and where possible effectively leverage off these reforms to deliver outcomes (see Attachment C).
2.6 How will Program funding be administered?
Program funding will be administered based on an open competitive selection process. Invitations To Apply will be released for each open competitive funding round conducted. Applicants will submit an application as per the instructions in the Invitation To Apply. The application is included in the Invitation To Apply at Part D.
Funding provided under the Program is intended to be broad in scope and flexible to support a wide range of activities that enable aged care providers to build relationships with public and private sector health care providers and medical insurers for the delivery of short term, more intensive health care services.
2.7 Evaluation
As part of a robust review, monitoring and evaluation framework, annual evaluations of the ongoing effectiveness of the Program will be conducted through an independent evaluation over four years from 2012-13.
Seed grant recipients will be required to:
- provide information to assist, and to participate, in monitoring and evaluation activities for a period of time, as stipulated in the Standard Funding Agreement;
- undertake monitoring and evaluation activities which will be used to inform the roll-out of the Programas it progresses; and
- abide by any monitoring and reporting requirements and arrangements established to support this function (for example qualitative and quantitative data collection and reporting).
The evaluation will analyse annual formal evaluations (along with relevant progress reports) from seed grant recipients and report the results each year to the Commonwealth. Successful innovative models will be selected by the Department and their promotional materials will be disseminated by the Department to the aged care sector.
The Department will engage with stakeholders during the development of this Program through an Expert Reference Group. It will also work with the Expert Reference Group to disseminate promotional materials to the aged care sector. Timing of the distribution of promotional material will be dependent on the duration of individual seed grants.
Attachment Ddescribes the development of the Programand the diversification of the aged care sector into a broader range of health care services.
2.8Target group
Aged care recipients who require:
- in-reach subacute care services provided by accredited hospitals in residential and community settings; and
- a broader range of more flexible and complex health care services provided in aged care homes and the community.
2.9Roles and responsibilities
The Grant Program Process Flowchart at Attachment E outlines the roles and responsibilities of each party.
The Department is responsible for the detailed administration of the Program, including all aspects of the application, appraisal and advice to the Funding Approver on the merits of each application, negotiating Standard Funding Agreements, payments, monitoring progress, and acquittal and evaluating processes.
The Funding Approver for the Program is the First Assistant Secretary, Ageing and Aged Care Division, Department of Health and Ageing. The Funding Approver makes a decision on each application and the Department advises the applicant of the decision.
The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing has responsibility for the Program.
As part of the application process, operational aged care providers submitting applications should ensure all information they provide is accurate. Providers applying for seed grantsshould be prepared to meet the costs associated with the development and lodgement of their application in response to an Invitation To Apply.
2.10Anticipated key dates
The Program is a non-ongoing initiative from 1 July 2012. The Program ends on 30 June 2017.
Invitations To Apply will open for open competitive funding rounds under the Program in each year from 2012 to 2015. Timeframes for specific open competitive funding rounds may vary depending upon the funding process and the expected outcomes of the individual activities. Timeframes for activities associated with the open competitive funding rounds will be clearly specified in eachInvitation To Apply.
You can find more information about the opening of Invitations To Apply on the Department’s website under Tenders and Grants at Potential applicants may check the site to learn when an open competitive funding round will be open/closed from 1 July each calendar year.
2.11Monitoring of seedgrants
Seed grants will be monitored under the Program and potential underspends identified. Consideration will be given to the use of any underspends, including through expansion or enhancement funding to new or existing projects to support implementation of the Program. For example, should such underspends be identified, applications received through the open competitive funding round assessed as being able to meet the Program’s aim and objectives but which did not receive funding, may be revisited and considered for future funding.
3. Eligibility
3.1 Who is eligible to apply for funding?
The Department is seeking applications from interested operational aged care providers that have the capacity to best implement the Program.
To be eligible for seed grants, applicants must be an approved provider of residential or community aged care with at least one operational service. Applications will not be accepted from non-operational aged care providers.
Favourable consideration will be given to operational aged care providers who form collaborations, consortia or partnerships with public and private health care providers and/or other organisations as required or as necessary to meet the selection criteria and health care needs of specific aged care recipients.
Joined-up or multi-regional approaches with an operational aged care provider as the lead organisation will also be considered if it can be demonstrated that such an approach is a more effective and efficient way to deliver short term, more intensive health care services to aged care recipients.
Where the application is a joint application with one or more other organisations, an operational aged care provider with at least one operational service must be identified as the lead organisation and an authorised representative of the lead organisation must sign the application.
3.2 Applications considered for funding?
Program funding will be provided in support of applications for seed grants which:
- are led by a suitably placed and experienced operational aged care provider; and
- enable realistic achievement of the Program’s aim and objectives within a local area/region.
All requirements for applications will be set out in each Invitation To Apply, including matters such as:
- project items that will be considered eligible;
- any funding caps (minimum or maximum limits that may apply);
- any restrictions on Start/End dates for activities (for example, all projects must be completed within the stated Financial Year/s);and
- any restrictions on when funding must be expended.
Program funding will only be provided for new Program specific tasks to be undertaken by an operational aged care provider, even if the organisation engaged receives funding from another source to deliver programs and services other than those under this Program.
Retrospective items/activities will not be funded under the Program.
4. Probity
The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that the process for providing funding under the Program is transparent and in accordance with published Guidelines.
Note:Guidelines may be varied from time-to-time by the Australian Government as the needs of
the Program dictate. Amended Guidelines will be published on the Department’s websiteunder Programs and Initiativesat. The Guidelines will also be attached to each Invitation To Apply.
4.1 Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest may exist, for example, if the applicant or any of its personnel:
- has a relationship (whether professional, commercial or personal) with a party who is able to influence the application assessment process, such as a Department staff member;
- has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicant in carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently; or
- has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain as a result of the granting of funding under the Program.
Each applicant will be required to declare as part of their application, existing conflicts of interest or that to the best of their knowledge there is no conflict of interest, including in relation to the examples above, that would impact on or prevent the applicant from proceeding with the project or any Standard Funding Agreement it may enter into with the Australian Government.
Where an applicant subsequently identifies that an actual, apparent, or potential conflict of interest exists or might arise in relation to their application for seed grants, the applicant must inform the Department in writing immediately.
4.2 Confidentiality and protection of personal information
Each applicant will be required to declare as part of their application, their ability to comply with the following Legislation/Clauses in the Standard Funding Agreement it may enter into with the Australian Government.
The Protection of Personal Information Clause requires the Participant to:
- comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (‘the Privacy Act’), including the 11 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs), as if it were an agency under the Privacy Act, and the National Privacy Principles (NPPs);
- refrain from engaging in direct marketing (s 16F of the Privacy Act), to the extent that the NPP and/or s 16F apply to the Participant; and
- impose the same privacy obligations on any subcontractors it engages to assist with the Project.
The Confidentiality Clause imposes obligations on the Participant with respect to special categories of information collected, created or held under the Standard Funding Agreement. TheParticipant is required to seek the Commonwealth’s consent in writing before disclosing Confidential Information.