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

ACNC Governance Standards

In October 2010 the Australian federal government established the Office for the Not-for-profit Sector to coordinate the National Compact “Working Together”. This new Office founded an independent charities regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), which commenced operation in December 2012.

The ACNC is now the national body charged with determining eligibility for charitable entity status. This determination will be based on the national definitions for “charity” and “charitable purpose”, as defined in the Charities Bill 2013, which was enacted by the Commonwealth parliament on 27 June 2013. Once approved as a “charitable entity”, the charity is required to register with the ACNC, and may then apply to the ATO for Commonwealth charity tax concessions. Prior to registration with the ACNC, the charity must comply with the ACNC Governance Standards, which were released on 1 July 2013.

These Standards are intended to promote public trust and confidence in charities. As the new regulatory body, the role of ACNC will be to monitor the initial and ongoing compliance of registered charities with the Standards requirements. Charitable entities also have an obligation to demonstrate their status by lodging their “governing documents” (i.e. rules, constitution or trust deed) with the ACNC, to enable their charitable purpose to be made publicly available through the ACNC’s free, searchable electronic Register. For more information about the obligations of charitable entities, and timelines for compliance, visit the ACNC website: www.acnc.gov.au 

B. Richardson and Associates js pleased to announce the release of a new Governance Manual (2^nd edn). This edition contains a new policy, “Promoting Public Trust and Confidence” and procedural guidelines for compliance against the ACNC Governance Standards. In addition, the BRandA Standards Correlation Guide (3^rd edition) has been updated to include the ACNC Governance Standards, to assist providers in demonstrating evidence of practice.

Information on the BRandA Governance Manual or on the complete BRandA Resource Package can be accessed by contacting quality@communityresourcingworldwide.com.au

The BRandA Resource Package - the essential resource for Transition to the new Standards

The BRandA Resource Package has been designed and developed to address the requirements of both the Community Care Common Standards and the Human Services Quality Framework. Unlike past quality assurance requirements, both new Standards have embraced a quality management approach that incorporates continuous improvement. It is through the collection and analysis of data from monitoring and evaluation activities that continuous system improvements can be planned and implemented, in an ongoing cycle. In the transition to the new Standards, one of the major challenges for service providers will therefore be an ability to demonstrate a culture of continuous improvement that has been integrated into all operational systems. In planning for this transition, service providers will need to give primacy to evidence-based practice.  This will be demonstrated through the agency’s documents and records. Providers will need to be more diligent about recording their service improvements, in order to demonstrate standards compliance. 

To support them in strengthening their evidence base, BRandA is offering a Continuous Improvement Register as a free download.

For further information on the Package, and to access the free Continuous Improvement Register ,contact quality@communityresourcingworldwide.com.au or subscribe to the free BRandA Quality Resource App here.