Aged Care Services – Consumer Directed Care
More than 1.3 million Australians receive some form of Commonwealth subsidised aged care. Around 300 thousand people are in residential aged care (a nursing home) while more than 1 million people receive a subsidised aged care package in their own home setting.
A major change was made to the provision of Home Care Packages in February 2017. Consumer Directed Care (CDC) was introduced giving consumers greater flexibility with home care packages and more choice about the service provider that delivers the care to them. The transition to CDC has largely been successful. The consumer has been placed into the driver’s seat in making choices about the types of care and services that they wish to access.
But with this increase in consumer control, it is now even more important to have independent advice before deciding on which aged care provider to choose, to understand the quality of care services provided and the costs to you to receive those services.
Liz and Ron Carroll established Aged Care Connect in 2002 to help families navigate through the maze of local aged care services and providers and to understand and negotiate the aged care fees and charges.
McPhails asked Liz and Ron to follow up on their “In the Loop” article in March 2016 and to share their thoughts about the latest CDC changes and the effect that they are having on the aged care consumer.
Home Care Packages
A Home Care Package subsidised by the Commonwealth assists the person who wishes to remain in their own home, whether it’s the family home, an apartment, a retirement community, a granny flat, a boarding house or many other accommodation arrangements.
There are four levels of Home Care Package:
- Level 1 – to support people with simple care needs.
- Level 2 – to support people with low level care needs.
- Level 3 – to support people with intermediate care needs.
- Level 4 – to support people with high care needs.
While the Commonwealth’s “My Aged Care” service will assess, prioritise, and assign the home care packages – the major change from 27 February 2017 sees Commonwealth funding directly provided to the care recipient in the form of a budget, instead of a subsidy to the aged care provider.
The care recipient can now choose their preferred home care provider and can transfer to different providers at any time – the home care package is transportable nationally. Unfortunately, some providers charge an exit fee to consumers if they wish to use another service provider, the exit fee can be as high as $600.
Once the Home Care Package has been assigned, the consumer has 56 days in which to find a home care provider and sign a Home Care agreement. An extension of up to 28 days is possible where the consumer is finding it difficult to identify a provider.
Home Care Package consumers should be aware of the fee structure, especially any administration, case management or potential exit fees before accepting services for a provider.
There are many important items to consider when choosing a home care provider:
- Suitability of service that they provide to your family needs?
- Are they able to adapt to your specific care needs as they change?
- How frequently will they be able to visit?
- Do they have a reputation for providing quality services?
- What are the costs and charges for services, including case management, administration, hourly rates, exit fees, etc.?
- Will they negotiate how much you pay for the Basic Daily Fee?
Residential Care
We expect that the Commonwealth will roll out the Consumer Directed Care model for Residential Care area soon. This will further increase competition between the residential care providers.
We are currently seeing existing residential care providers trying to differentiate themselves by offering new types of services (medical clinics in the aged care home) and many new residential care providers offering non-Commonwealth subsidised accommodation alternatives.
We are also witnessing some residential care providers introducing new fee categories and higher fees for refundable accommodation deposits and extra service fees.
Our take home messages?
- Planning and research is important to make sure that you are receiving quality aged care services, either home care or residential care, at a reasonable price.
- Sharing the task with an experienced and independent advisor who can help you make a more informed decision.
Further Information?
- My Aged Care: http://www.myagedcare.gov.au/
- Home Care Today: https://homecaretoday.org.au/
- Aged Care Fees and Charges: https://agedcare.health.gov.au/aged-care-funding/aged-care-fees-and-charges
If you would like to discuss your family requirements and the local aged care service providers contact the friendly Liz or Ron Carroll at:
Aged Care Connect pty ltd
Ph: 1300 884 850
Mb: 0400 888 381
info@agedcareconnect.com.au
10 Misused Words That Make Smart People Look Stupid
We’re all tempted to use words that we’re not too familiar with. We throw them around in meetings, e-mails and important documents (such as resumes and client proposals), and they land, like fingernails across a chalkboard, on everyone who has to hear or read them.
No matter how talented you are or what you’ve accomplished, using words incorrectly can change the way people see you and forever cast you in a negative light. You may not think it’s a big deal, but if your language is driving people up the wall, you need to do something about it.
It’s the words that we think we’re using correctly that wreak the most havoc because we don’t even realise how poorly we’re coming across. After all, Talent Smart has tested the emotional intelligence of more than a million people and found that self-awareness is the area where most people score the lowest.
We’re all guilty of this from time to time, us included!
Often, it’s the words we perceive as being more “correct” or sophisticated that catch us by surprise when they don’t really mean what we think they do. These words have a tendency to make even really smart people stumble.
Ironic vs. Coincidental
A lot of people get this wrong. If you break your leg the day before a ski trip, that’s not ironic -- it’s coincidental (and bad luck).
Ironic has several meanings, all of which include some reversal of what was expected. Verbal irony is when a person says one thing but clearly, means another. Situational irony is when a result is the opposite of what was expected. O. Henry was a master of situational irony. In “The Gift of the Magi,” Jim sells his watch to buy combs for his wife’s hair, and she sells her hair to buy a chain for Jim’s watch. Each character sold something precious to buy a gift for the other, but those gifts were intended for what the other person sold. That is true irony.
If you break your leg the day before a ski trip, that’s coincidental. If you drive up to the mountains to ski, and there was more snow back at your house, that’s ironic.
Affect vs. Effect
To make these words even more confusing than they already are, both can be used as either a noun or a verb.
Let’s start with the verbs. Affect means to influence something or someone; effect means to accomplish something. “Your job was affected by the organisational restructuring” but “These changes will be effected on Monday.”
As a noun, an effect is the result of something: “The sunny weather had a huge effect on sales.” It’s almost always the right choice because the noun affect refers to an emotional state and is rarely used outside of psychological circles: “The patient’s affect was flat.”
Lie vs. Lay
We’re all pretty clear on the lie that means an untruth. It’s the other usage that trips us up. Lie also means to recline: “Why don’t you lie down and rest?” Lay requires an object: “Lay the book on the table.” Lie is something you can do by yourself, but you need an object to lay.
It’s more confusing in the past tense. The past tense of lie is -- you guessed it -- lay: “I lay down for an hour last night.” And the past tense of lay is laid: “I laid the book on the table.”
Accept vs. Except
These two words sound similar but have very different meanings. Accept means to receive something willingly: “His mum accepted his explanation” or “She accepted the gift graciously.” Except signifies exclusion: “I can attend every meeting except the one next week.”
To help you remember, note that both except and exclusion begin with ex.
Bring vs. Take
Bring and take both describe transporting something or someone from one place to another, but the correct usage depends on the speaker’s point of view. Somebody brings something to you, but you take it to somewhere else: “Bring me the mail, then take your shoes to your room.”
Just remember, if the movement is toward you, use bring; if the movement is away from you, use take.
Bringing It All Together
English grammar can be tricky, and, a lot of times, the words that sound right are actually wrong. With words such as those above, you just have to memorize the rules so that when you are about to use them, you’ll catch yourself in the act and know for certain that you’ve written or said the right one.
This article was written by Travis Bradberry and appeared online in the Entrepreneur.
Tax news, views and clues April 2017
Ride-sharing drivers must register for GST
In a recent decision, the Federal Court has held that the UberX service supplied by Uber’s drivers constitutes the supply of “taxi travel” for the purposes of GST. The ATO has now advised that people who work as drivers providing ride-sharing (or ride-sourcing) services must:
- keep records;
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN);
- register for GST;
- pay GST on the full fare they receive from passengers;
- lodge activity statements; and
- include income from ride-sharing services in their tax returns.
If you work as a ride-sharing driver, you are also entitled to claim income tax deductions and GST credits on expenses apportioned to the services you have supplied.
TIP: You must register for GST if you earn any income by driving for a ride-sharing service. The usual $75,000 GST registration threshold does not apply for these activities.
Tax offset for spouse super contributions: changes from
1 July 2017
The ATO has reminded taxpayers that that the assessable income threshold for claiming a tax offset for contributions made to a spouse’s eligible superannuation fund will increase to $40,000 from 1 July 2017 (the current threshold is $13,800). The current 18% tax offset of up to $540 will remain in place. However, a taxpayer will not be entitled to the tax offset when their spouse who receives the contribution has exceeded the non-concessional contributions cap for the relevant year or has a total superannuation balance equal to or more than the general transfer balance cap immediately before the start of the financial year when the contribution was made. The general transfer balance cap is $1.6 million for the 2017–2018 year.
The offset will still reduce for spouse incomes above $37,000 and completely phase out at incomes above $40,000.
TIP: Contact us for more information about making the most of super contributions for you and your spouse.
ATO targets restaurants and cafés, hair and beauty businesses in cash economy crackdown
The ATO will visit more than 400 businesses across Perth and Canberra in April as part of a campaign to help small businesses stay on top of their tax affairs. The primary focus is on businesses operating in the cash and hidden economies. ATO officers will be visiting restaurants and cafés, hair and beauty and other small businesses in these cities to make sure their registration details are up to date. These businesses represent the greatest areas of risk and highest numbers of reports to the ATO from across the country, and the visits are part of the ATO’s ongoing program of compliance work.
Super reforms: $1.6 million
transfer balance cap and death benefit pensions
Where a taxpayer has amounts remaining in superannuation when they die, their death creates a compulsory cashing requirement for the superannuation provider. This means the superannuation provider must cash the superannuation interests to the deceased person’s beneficiaries as soon as possible. The ATO has released a Draft Law Companion Guideline to explain the treatment of superannuation death benefit income streams under the $1.6 million pension transfer balance cap that will apply from 1 July 2017.
The Draft Guideline provides that where a deceased member’s superannuation interest is cashed to a dependant beneficiary in the form of a death benefit income stream, a credit will arise in the dependant beneficiary’s transfer balance account. The amount and timing of the transfer balance credit will depend on whether the recipient is a reversionary or non-reversionary beneficiary.
Tip: To reduce an excess transfer balance, you may be able to fully or partially convert a death benefit or super income stream into a super lump sum. Contact us if you would like to know more.
No deduction for carried-forward company losses
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has ruled that a company was not entitled to deductions for carried-forward losses of over $25 million that it incurred in the 1990 to 1995 income years. The AAT found that the company did not satisfy the “continuity of ownership” and “same business” tests that applied in relation to the 1996 to 2003 income years, when it sought to recoup the losses. In relation to the continuity of ownership test, the AAT found that the interests the relevant shareholders held during the loss years were different from their interests recoupment years. The AAT noted that the taxpayer company was obligated to keep appropriate records, even though 25 years had passed since the first claimed loss year (1990). The Tribunal also found that the company had clearly not met the requirements of the “same business” test for the different years in question.
TIP: This decision illustrates the need for companies to keep appropriate ownership records year-by-year to support any future carried-forward loss claims.
Overseas income not exempt from Australian income tax
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has agreed with the ATO’s decision that income a tapayer earned when working for the United States Army was not exempt from Australian income tax. The taxpayer, who was a mechanic and electrician, played a critical role in plant construction in Afghanistan.
While the project the taxpayer worked on met the legal definition of an “eligible project”, the AAT decided that the exemption he had claimed under s 23AF of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 did not apply because the project was not one that the Trade Minister had approved in writing, and there was no evidence that the Trade Minister considered it “in the national interest”.
GST on low-value imported goods
A Bill introduced into Parliament in February proposes to make Australian goods and services tax (GST) payable on supplies of items worth less than A$1,000 (known as “low value goods”) that consumers import into Australia with the assistance of the vendor who sells the items. For example, GST would apply when you buy items worth less than $1,000 online from an overseas store and the seller arranges to post them to you in Australia.
Under the proposed measures, sellers, operators of electronic distribution platforms or redeliverers (such as parcel-forwarding services) would be responsible for paying GST on these types of transactions. The GST could also be imposed on the end consumer by reverse charge if they claim to be a business (so the overseas supplier charges no GST) but in fact use the goods for private purposes. If the Bill is passed, the measures would come into force on 1 July 2017.
TIP: The ATO has also released a Draft Law Companion Guideline that discusses how to calculate the GST payable on a supply of low-value goods, the rules to prevent double taxation of goods and how the rules interact with other rules for supplies connected with Australia.
Alternative assessments not tentative: Federal Court
The Federal Court has found that a company’s tax assessments were not tentative or provisional, and therefore were valid.
For the 2011 to 2014 income years, the Commissioner of Taxation had notified the taxpayer, which was the trustee of a discretionary trust, that it was liable to pay tax assessed in two different amounts calculated by two different methods. The Commissioner explained to the taxpayer in writing how the two assessments applied.
The taxpayer argued that the assessments were tentative because, for each year, they imposed two separate and different income tax liabilities on its single trustee capacity. The Court denied this claim, agreeing with the ATO that a trustee’s liability to pay income tax is of a “representative character” and the relevant tax law provisions allow for a trustee’s liability to multiple assessments regarding different beneficiaries’ entitlements to a share of the net trust income. Accordingly, in effect the Court found that the primary and alternative assessments were comparable to assessments issued to two or more taxpayers in relation to the same income in the same income year, and were not liable to be set aside as tentative or provisional.
Clients should not act solely on the basis of the material contained in this article. Items herein are general comments only and do not constitute or convey advice per se. Also changes in legislation may occur quickly. We therefore recommend that our formal advice be sought before acting in any of the areas. This article is issued as a helpful guide to clients and for their private information. Therefore it should be regarded as confidential and not be made available to any person without our prior approval.