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The exposure draft of the much-anticipated new Aged Care Act was released on 14 December 2023. The new Act will replace the current Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth) and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 (Cth).
At more than 320 pages in length, it’s a hefty read.  While we are still working through the finer details, in this episode we discuss our preliminary thoughts and observations about some of the issues in the exposure draft.  
You can find other information and resources at www.oloughlins.com.au. O’Loughlins is a legal firm based in South Australia.  The information in this podcast is for general information only and not to be relied on as legal or other advice.  Please consult with your legal advisor for advice about your particular circumstances. 
 

In this episode, we are discussing the recent report published by the Australian Government on the third Home Care Packages Program Assurance Review.  
This assurance review looked at pricing transparency on My Aged Care.  Through the review, a number of common issues were identified with home care pricing schedules.  
A transcript of this episode can be found at: 
https://www.oloughlinsonair.com.au/blog/home-care-pricing-schedules-issues-found-in-the-australian-government-s-assurance-review  
O'Loughlins is a legal firm based in South Australia.  The information in this podcast is for general information only and not to be relied on as legal or other advice.  Please consult with your legal advisor for advice about your particular circumstances.  
 
 

The question of what items can and cannot be included in a Home Care Package is a common one.
Although it has been out of scope for the three Home Care Packages Program Assurance Reviews published to date, it has consistently been identified as an additional out of scope issue. This has prompted the publication by the Department of updated guidance material in the Program Manual and FAQ document. 
Given the ongoing confusion over this issue, we thought it would be useful to discuss the law and guidance material. 
You can find other information and resources at oloughlinsonair.com.au.  O'Loughlins is a legal firm based in South Australia.  The information in this podcast is for general information only and not to be relied on as legal or other advice.  Please consult with your legal advisor for advice about your particular circumstances.  
 
 

In this episode, we discuss room moves in residential aged care and the rules that apply. 
It is an issue that occurs in many different circumstances, such as where a resident wishes to change rooms, where a resident no longer needs a room in memory support or where a resident has increased needs that require an alternative room. 
A common misconception is that the maximum permissible interest rate (or 'MPIR' as it is often called) can never change for a resident.  However, a room move is one situation where the MPIR might change, depending on the circumstances.
You can find other information and resources at www.oloughlinsonair.com.au. O'Loughlins is a legal firm based in South Australia.  The information in this podcast is for general information only and not to be relied on as legal or other advice.  Please consult with your legal advisor for advice about your particular circumstances.  

In our work with aged care providers and retirement village operators, we are often asked to review a variety of commercial contracts, such as contractor agreements to provide services, labour hire type arrangements to provide staff and software licence agreements.
There are a few issues that we come across often, so in this episode we run through some contract basics that are relevant to many kinds of commercial contracts, as well as issues of particular relevance to aged care providers and retirement village operators. 
You can find other information and resources at oloughlinsonair.com.au.  O'Loughlins is a legal firm based in South Australia.  The information in this podcast is for general information only and not to be relied on as legal or other advice. Please consult with your legal advisor for advice about your particular circumstances.
 

In this episode, we discuss the new model for representatives proposed in the Australian Government's first consultation paper on the new Aged Care Act.
As providers would be familiar with, the current Aged Care Act has a range of concepts for representatives.
The consultation paper outlines a proposal to use the term nominee in the new Aged Care Act and to create two categories of nominees: a supporter and a representative. 
There are many problematic aspects to the proposed nominee arrangements, which we discuss in this episode. 
You can find other information and resources at oloughlinsonair.com.au.  O'Loughlins is a legal firm based in South Australia.  The information on this podcast is for general information only and not to be relied on as legal or other advice.  Please consult with your legal advisor for advice about your particular circumstances.