342AQuarterly reporting on waiting periods for certain funded aged care services

342A  Quarterly reporting on waiting periods for certain funded aged care services

 (1) Subject to subsection (4), the System Governor must give the Minister a written report, within 28 days after the end of each quarter, on the duration of waiting periods for non‑specialist funded aged care services.

 (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the report must include the following information:

 (a) the number of applications for funded aged care services made under subsection 56(1) for which a decision under subsection 57(1) has not been made, including applications made during that quarter and previous quarters;

 (b) the average number of days between the date of an application for funded aged care services being made under subsection 56(1) and the commencement of the provision of non‑specialist funded aged care services, where those services commenced in the quarter;

 (c) the median number of days between the date of an application for funded aged care services being made under subsection 56(1) and the commencement of the provision of non‑specialist funded aged care services, where those services commenced in the quarter;

 (d) an assessment of the differences in the time taken between application and the commencement of services as a result of whether the non‑specialist funded aged care service was delivered in an approved residential care home or a home or community setting;

 (e) an assessment of the differences in the time taken between application and the commencement of services as a result of the State or Territory in which the non‑specialist funded aged care service was delivered;

 (f) an assessment of the differences in the time taken between application and the commencement of services as a result of the local region in which the non‑specialist funded aged care service was delivered;

 (g) any other matter prescribed by the rules.

 (2A) Without limiting subsection (1), a report may include corrections or updates to information included in a previous report.

 (3) The System Governor must publish the report on the Department’s website as soon as practicable after it is given to the Minister.

 (4) If this section commences during a quarter (but not on the first day of the quarter):

 (a) no report is to be made at the end of the quarter; but

 (b) the report made at the end of the next quarter is also to include the information about the duration of waiting periods for non‑specialist funded aged care services that occurred in the previous quarter.

 (5) In this section:

local region has the meaning prescribed by the rules.

non‑specialist funded aged care service means a funded aged care service other than a service delivered under a specialist aged care program.