Proposed regulation reforms will require home care providers who are sole traders to be registered – what will that mean for home care?

In a recent webinar, the Department of Health and Aged Care outlined its proposed new model for regulation of the aged care system, including that all providers of Government-funded aged care services will need to register to operate, including sole traders delivering in-home care.

Caroline Turnour, Assistant Secretary, Harmonisation and Regulatory Strategy Branch with the Department, told the webinar that when it comes to regulation, “Our primary concern is with the people delivering the services, that we can have trust and confidence in the quality of the services that they’re delivering.”

Nick Morgan, Assistant Secretary, Support at Home Reform Branch with the Department explained, “The intention under the Support at Home Program is to open up the market a little bit more so that new providers can enter provided they meet the registration and regulatory requirements. And in some cases that may be sole traders.” 

The reforms are still being developed, but Peter Scutt, Co-Founder and Executive Director of support worker platform, Mable (pictured above), which has more than 11,000 independent support workers on its books, said Mable supports the regulatory framework.

He told The SOURCE that from the information in the public domain, “The Government is proposing a risk-proportionate approach that acknowledges that, for example, individuals providing domestic support like house cleaning should have different obligations to highly skilled clinicians such as nurses.

“As such, some service categories will be subject to audits against strengthened quality standards while others will not.”

He said the costs of registration and compliance will have to be factored into the prices Mable care workers charge.

The SOURCE: During the Royal Commission, the lack of regulation and oversight of home care was a point of concern, particularly given people’s preference, and growing demand for, receiving care in the home. It was suggested then that carers who work through online platforms be registered and subject to regulation, such as the regulations proposed.