ACCV ACFI Symposium

ACCV’s ACFI Symposium held on 9 October 2009 saw a full house of nearly 300 Victorian aged care providers come together at the Flemington Race Course to consider the current and longer term issues related to the ACFI.

The industry welcomed the opportunity for significant dialogue with key representatives from the Department of Health and Ageing given the vital importance of ACFI to the long term viability of the industry.

The Symposium was divided into four sessions: a trend analysis of ACFI by the Department of Health and Ageing, a focus on getting right the technical aspects of ACFI, assessing what impact ACFI had on streamlining paperwork and consideration of industry priorities for the now imminent Government ACFI Review – due 18 months after the introduction of ACFI in March 2008.

Overall, delegates considered:

• the ACFI had been well implemented and it was now the time for further refinement
• the ACFI is a substantial step forward from the former RCS
• there is an urgency about the ACFI Review given the vital need for improved funding
• there is a priority to streamline overall compliance
• there is further clarification needed in regard to various technical implementation issues.

Delegates offered many positive solutions to these key issues. 

The overall opinion of all delegates from the Symposium was that unless key funding issues are addressed as a priority, many older Victorians will not be able to access residential aged care in the future.