The first wave of research was conducted between January-March 2016 and focussed on evaluating the implementation of stage two of My Aged Care in July 2015. Stage Two Wave 1 Research Earlier this year the department commissioned research through independent research consultancy, AMR, to evaluate experiences and perceptions of the aged care system and My Aged Care initiative among: clients carers assessors service providers health professionals Key findings Overall, client sat

First there was a robotic seal named PARO assisting people with dementia, then a robot named Zora came to Brightwater Care Group’s facility in Madeley. Now there are a couple of robots, affectionately known as Chairman Nao and Nero, at Mark Moran Vaucluse, Sydney. Meet the NAO robots, Australia’s latest robots to be working in aged care Meet the NAO robots, Australia’s latest robots to be working in aged care. Utilising built-in sensors, cameras and some careful programming,

PERTH premises have been billed for more than $1 million this year as part of a crackdown on false fire alarms. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has already been called out nearly 8,000 times to buildings where there was no fire. New data has revealed the cost of carelessness at homes, businesses and care facilities. Since a $750 fee was introduced in January to target repeat offenders, more than 1,500 invoices have been issued. That was despite the penalty only

Too expensive to roll out, not enough subscribers. Google's ambitious fibre-to-the-premises rollout is over, after the company said it would shift its focus to the lower-cost wireless broadband. The announcement follows reports company founder Larry Page was disappointed in subscriber numbers and wanted to halve Google Fibre staffing levels. Hints that the company was changing focus were also provided through its June acquisition of Webpass, which offers wireless internet con

Over the past week, StartupSmart got wind of some exciting investment deals around the country. Australian startups building innovative solutions to serve those in need in the aged care, workplace safety and edtech sectors cashed in a combined $36 million from investors. Here’s a round up of the most exciting deals, the startups that scored, the investors that splurged, and how the money will be spent. BETTER CARING BANKS $3 MILLION What they do: Better Caring is developing t

Overview As part of the changes announced in 2012, a comprehensive review was included in the Aged Care (Living Longer Living Better) Act 2013 (the Act). The Aged Care Legislated Review (the Review) will look at the impact of the changes to date and where we need to take the system in the future. On 22 September 2016, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Ken Wyatt AO MP announced the appointment of Mr David Tune AO PSM to lead the Review. Opportunity to have

Police issue warning about bank account change notices. The SA Police has issued a warning to companies after a local business was scammed out of $1.5 million by offshore attackerss masquerading as a supplier, having obtained sensitive business information through a targeted phishing campaign. South Australian police suspect the scammers initially used an email phishing attack to identify the supplier-client relationship between the two companies. After obtaining detailed kno

Work to take the assessment of aged care funding from the hands of providers is underway with the government commissioning the University of Wollongong to identify alternatives to the beleaguered Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI). Department of Health officials told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday that experts at the university had been engaged to review international models of assessing care needs, as well as funding methods used in related sectors such as the heal

As health and aged care provision becomes increasingly connected, network visibility is the key to enabling IT teams to see and respond to threats, writes Keith Bromley. Keith Bromley A number of key health and aged care areas are becoming more connected, including patient monitoring, asset tracking, electronic health records, and communications. But if any one of these areas malfunctions, or if a security breach occurs, businesses must have immediate response capabilities. F

Legislative amendments for the Increasing Choice in Home Care reforms are in place following registration of the amendments to the Aged Care Principles and Determinations on 23 September 2016. While the majority of the legislative amendments start on 27 February 2017, some transitional arrangements for exit amounts started on 24 September 2016. Transitional arrangements Providers can now include an exit amount in a consumer’s home care agreement in anticipation of the 27 Febr