Submitted to Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.

Dietitians Australia considers that funding models for dietetic care must be improved to achieve and maintain quality of life for older people living in residential aged care. The Aged Care Quality Standards describe provider responsibilities to deliver safe and quality clinical care to older people, but without adequate funding supports, dietetic care according to individual needs is unable to be realised.

This submission provides evidence of unintended negative consequences for allied health services, including dietetic services, since the introduction of AN-ACC and the mandatory RN care minute requirements for residential aged care. 

Several recommendations are put forward to address this concern, including a call to:

• initiate a review on the impact of AN-ACC and the focus on delivering the required care minutes, on the provision of allied health services in residential care settings.
• introduce a nationally consistent allied health needs assessment and care planning process as part of the AN-ACC model.
• adjust the AN-ACC pricing framework to reflect the costs needed for allied health services, including dietetic services, based on individually assessed allied health needs.

To read more, download our full submission.