As providers know, from 1 December 2023, existing aged care approved providers were required to establish a Quality Care Advisory Body and a Consumer Advisory Body.

It is now about six months since commencement of the changes and there is remaining uncertainty amongst some providers about the requirements and how they should be implemented and the attitude the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (Commission) might take to compliance.

Over the last six months some of the challenges we have observed as providers come to terms with the new requirements are as follows:

• Confusion between the requirements to implement advisory bodies and the requirements to have a majority of independent non-executive directors and a director with clinical expertise on the governing body of the approved provider.
• The requirements related to governing bodies being separate to the requirements related to advisory bodies. The governing body of an approved provider is, if the provider is a company incorporated under the Corporations Act, its board of directors. The governing body is otherwise the group of persons responsible for the executive decisions of the provider.  Advisory bodies are not the governing body.
• Reconciling the new advisory body requirements with existing committees such as clinical governance committees.
  • There being no requirement to replace any existing clinical governance committee with a separate Quality Care Advisory Body.
  • The existing body can be used to fulfill the functions of a Quality Care Advisory Body as long as the existing body meets the minimum legislative obligations with respect to purpose, members and reporting.
  • If a provider chooses to use an existing body it's not necessary to change the name of the body so long as the constituting and reporting documentation makes clear the role of the body is to act as the provider's Quality Care Advisory Body.
• Uncertainty about the content of the report that must be provided by the Quality Care Advisory Body to the Governing Body.
• Confusion about the minimum requirements set out in the Accountability Principles about the content of the reports that must be provided by the Quality Care Advisory Body to the governing body and the action the governing body must take in response to the report.

The Commission has issued guidance materials (Guidelines) to assist providers with their interpretation of the requirements. The Guidelines can be found here.

It is expected that the Guidelines will evolve over time as will a better understanding of the Commission's likely approach to compliance. At this stage it is reasonable to assume that approved providers will be expected to produce evidence that the roles, responsibilities and intended operational processes of the bodies have been defined (e.g. by terms of reference and a policy/process) that will include details such as:

• How the provider will respond to requests for information
• How reports inform the governing body
• How governing body responses are referred back to Advisory Bodies
• How offers to consumers to participate in Consumer Advisory Bodies are made
• How reporting requirements are met  
• How membership requirements are met.

Thomson Geer has prepared a suite of documents to assist providers to comply with the requirements to implement and manage your advisory bodies, that include the following:

• Quality Care Advisory Body and Consumer Advisory Body - Terms of Reference.
• Quality Care Advisory Body and Consumer Advisory Body - Policy and Procedure.
• Template report from Quality Care Advisory Body and Consumer Advisory Body, to the GB (that meets the requirements of the Accountability Principles).
• Template response from the GB to the Quality Care Advisory Body and Consumer Advisory Body (that meets the requirements of the Accountability Principles).

Please contact the Health and Aged Care Team at Thomson Geer, if:

• you are looking for guidance and support with establishing a Quality Care Advisory Body and Consumer Advisory Body that complies with the requirements of the legislation or dealing with regulatory or compliance actions by the Commission in respect of the bodies; or
• you wish to purchase the suite of documents we have prepared to assist you with complying with your obligations in respect of the Quality Care Advisory Body and Consumer Advisory Body.