Latest Home Care Packages Program Data – 1 October -31 December 2017
This report outlines data from the period of 1 October 2017 – 31 December 2017. Below is a summary of this data, including a comparison of the data presented in the report from 1 July 2017 – 30 September 2017.
Trends in Home Care Approvals
| 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2017 | 1 July – 30 Sep 2017 | |
| Approvals for Home Care | 31,207 | 31,698 |
| Approvals for Home Care in NSW | 10,647 | 10,879 |
- Since February 2017, it is estimated that two out of every three ACAT assessments have resulted in approvals for HCP.
- An additional 17,578 packages have been released since the last quarter
Prioritisation and Queues
| 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2017 | 1 July – 30 Sep 2017 | |
| Consumers in the national prioritisation queue | 104,602 | 101,508 |
| Assignment of interim packages for queued consumers | 46% | 40% |
| Number of consumers in NSW on the national prioritisation queue | 35,173 | 34,533 |
- More than half of queued consumers are waiting for level 4 packages
Service Delivery
| 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2017 | 1 July – 30 Sep 2017 | |
| Consumers in a HCP | 74,205 | 71,423 |
| Approved Home Care providers in Australia | 806 | 766 |
- The number of consumers receiving HCP has increased by 3.9% since the last quarter
- In December 2017, there were 2,001 Home Care Packages released to consumers in the Northern Sydney Region.
- The number of approved Home Care providers has increased by 5.2% since the last quarter, with an annual increase of 52.9% since December 2016.
- In the Northern Sydney Region, the number of approved Home Care providers has increased by 61% since March 2017
Maximum Exit Amounts
| 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2017 | 1 July – 30 Sep 2017 | |
| Average maximum exit amount | $266 | $279 |
| Percentage of providers that did not deduct and exit amount | 38% | 36% |
The latest data reveals a national and state increase in the number of consumers queued for HCP. In addition to this, it is clear that the number of providers in the Northern Sydney Region is also increasing to support the demand for services. The increase in the number of services is likely create a competitive market driven environment and potentially drive the standard of quality within the region.
For the full report on the latest Home Care Packages data, please see the AIHW website.
Australian Government Department of Health. (2018). Home Care Packages Program: Data Report 2nd Quarter 2017-2018, 1 October – 31 December 2017. Retrieved from https://gen-agedcaredata.gov.au/www_aihwgen/media/Home_care_report/HCP-Data-Report-2017%E2%80%9318-2nd-Qtr.pdf