HACC TRANSITION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

How your current HACC funding has been split between older and younger people

FACT SHEET FOR WA HACC SERVICE PROVIDERS

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The 2017-18 Western Australian (WA) Department of Health (DOH) Service Agreement Letter of Variation for the WA Home and Community Care (HACC) Program includedtheindicative funding split between older people(people aged 65 and over and 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and younger people (people aged under 65 and under 50 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people). The indicative split has been applied to each HACC service type provided by WA HACC organisations and is detailed in the 2017-18 WA HACC Service Specification Schedule (SSS).

The process of splitting HACC funding between older and younger clients from 1July2017 does not constitute an offer of a Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) grant agreement. This will be negotiated with you separately in early 2018 with the Commonwealth Department of Health.

However, please note that upon acceptance of the indicative funding split, this funding split will be reflected in your new CHSP Grant Agreement with the Commonwealth from 1 July 2018and in the 2018-19 variations to your WA DOHService Agreement.Please also note that funding in your WA Service Agreement may be adjusted in line with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) roll out.

Approach to determining the funding split from 1 July 2017

The Commonwealth Department of Health and the WA DOH have worked together to determine the indicative funding splits between older people and younger people for all existing WA HACC service providers.

To determine the indicative funding split, WA HACC funded activities have been categorised into two groups:

  • HACC Minimum Data Set (MDS) activities – Regional Assessment Services and direct delivery of community care services that are reported in the National Data Repository; and
  • Non-MDS activities (those contracted as Service Group 8) – sector development activities/projects that are generally not related to the direct delivery of community care services to identifiable clients/carers.

MDS activities

Approximately 97% of WA HACC activities are funded on a unit price basis and are MDS reported activities. This means that we can, to a high degree of accuracy, assign HACC resources to either the younger or older cohort.The split of funding for these activities using this evidence-based approach applies:

  • The most recent complete annual MDS data reported by your organisation, which is for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.
  • From this data it has been determined how many units(hours, occasions, meals or trips) you have provided to older and/or younger people for each HACC service type.
  • This provides a percentage of reported units against each age cohort for each HACC service type.
  • This percentage split has been applied to the contracted units and Annual Funding Levels (AFLs) for each service type for 2017-18.

Multi-Purpose Services

Multi-Purpose Services (MPS) funded under the WA HACC Program have an indicative Service Specification Schedule only. For this reason, the split of funding between older and younger clients has not been calculated for each individual HACC service type. Instead, the indicative funding split for each MPSsite has been calculated for each age cohort and applied across all service types for the individual MPS site.

Non – MDS activities

The split of non-MDS funded activities has been considered on a case by case basis between the WA DOH and the individual WA HACC service providers who deliver these activities.

Where there is information available to support a split by age, this has been used to inform the split of funding. Where there is no information on how the funding relates to older and younger clients, the Commonwealth Department of Health and the WA DOH discussed the funding on a case by case basis, with consideration given to the nature of the activity and whether it aligns with future Commonwealth or State responsibilities.

Application of the agreed funding split from 1 July 2018

From 1 July 2018, the funding for older people will be managed by the Commonwealth Department of Health through the CHSP. The Commonwealth will offer two-year grant agreements to all eligible service providers and assessment services in WA transitioning to the CHSP.

The Commonwealth will offer the same level of funding and outputs that are currently spent on eligibleHACC services for older people plus any applicable indexation. This will be a direct allocation process that is subject to service providers complying with the requirements of the CHSP Grant Agreement.

Existing WA HACC non-MDS activities for older people (contracted under Service Group 8) that are not within the scope of the CHSP will be granted funding under the CHSP from 1 July 2018 to 30June2019. This is in line with the twelve months funds stability period agreed between the Commonwealth and WA Government.

The funding for younger people will remain in your WA DOH Service Agreement. As the NDIS is implemented across WA from 1July2017 to 30 June 2020, the majority, if not all, of your funds for younger clients will transfer to the NDIS as these clients test their eligibility for the Scheme. Some further reductions to your WA DOH SSS will also occur for service providers in the initial trial sites and expansion sites.

Further information

If you have any questions about the transition of WA HACC services for older people to the CHSP please contact the Commonwealth Department of Health, WA HACC Transition Section by emailing .

For further information on the CHSP, please go to the Department of Health website at

If you have any questions regarding your WA Department of Health service agreement, please contact your WA Department of Health HACC project officer.