The Winds of Change

This New Year brings with it the Winds of Change. Many community aged care providers say that over the past 15 years or so, the only constant for the sector has been change. Fortunately, this means service providers are now experienced in change management, and in responding to new demands within their operating environment. In 2014, providers will need to call on those skills once again.

The Australian Government has decided to change the name of the Community Care Common Standards (2010) to the Home Care Standards (2013), and has made a number of changes to the Quality Reporting Program, about which service providers have been notified. These include the development and maintenance of a Plan for Continuous Improvement, which may be requested by the Department of Social Services at any time. The newly created Australian Aged Care Quality Agency will be the sole body responsible for the quality monitoring of all aged care services, whether they be delivered in an aged care home or in the person’s own residence. The Quality Agency commenced this function relating to residential aged care services on 1 January 2014, and from 1 July 2014 will also be responsible for all home care services funded by the Commonwealth.

Service providers who have chosen to adopt the world’s most widely used Quality Management Standard, ISO 9001will be aware that the 2008 version of this international Standard is currently under revision. To enable people to keep up to date with the proposed changes and their implications for your quality management system, SAI Global has made the Committee Draft (ISO/CD 9001) available to the public. Go to sales@saiglobal.com to order a copy. The full Draft International Standard is likely to be produced during the first half of 2014, and will then be open to public comment prior to its finalisation and publication.

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, and the Privacy Regulation 2013 made under the Privacy Act come into force on 12 March 2014. The changes to the Act include 13 new Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that will regulate the handling of personal information by government agencies and businesses. The changes also introduce new laws on codes of practice about information privacy. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has resources available to assist organisations to prepare for these privacy reforms. Providers can keep in touch with the OAIC by subscribing to their update mailing list (OAICnet), or go to the website www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/privacy-law-reform

The BRandA Resource Package promotes a “Better Practice” approach to Workplace Safety

The establishment, maintenance and monitoring of a safe work environment is both an ethical and a legal obligation of the Committee of Management. Ensuring compliance with relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks that apply within the agency’s geographic jurisdiction is a governance responsibility. In Australia, nationally uniform laws to protect the health and safety of all workers became effective on 1 January 2012. This move ensures consistency in regulatory approaches for health and safety in the workplace across all States and Territories. One of the new obligations for employers (Work Health and Safety Regulation No. 43) is to ensure that Emergency Plans are displayed prominently within the workplace.

As service providers review their safety systems and policy guidelines against the new regulatory requirements, it would also be timely to consider better practice approaches to work safety and risk management. The policies, procedures, tools and resources contained in the BRandA Workplace Safety Manual not only provide a structural framework for safe work practices that comply with current regulatory and Standards requirements, but also reflect an unequivocal commitment to protection of individual human rights and principles of natural justice. 
Information on the BRandA Workplace Safety Manual, and the complete BRandA Resource Package, can be accessed by contacting quality@communityresourcingworldwide.com.au. To assist providers with procedural compliance with the new regulations, a sample Emergency Plan is available as a free download when you subscribe to the Free BRandA Quality Resource App here