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Classifying your resident status
The Australian Government spends more than $7.1 billion annually to support the care for older Australians living in aged care homes. The rate of government subsidy that homes receive is based on the aged care provider’s appraisal of each resident's care needs. The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) replaced the Resident Classification Scale (RCS) as the mechanism to allocate this Government subsidy from 20 March 2008.
The ACFI was implemented to:
- better match funding to the complex care needs of residents;
- reduce the documentation created by aged care providers to justify funding; and
- achieve higher levels of agreement between aged care staff and departmental review officers in review audits (known as validation).
The ACFI consists of twelve care need questions. Diagnostic information about mental and behavioural disorders and other medical conditions is also collected. This information is used to categorise residents as having low, medium or high care needs in each of the following three care domains:
- Activities of daily living
- Behaviour
- Complex Health Care.
Read rmore: Review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument
Subsidy Rates and Frequently Asked Questions relating to the Aged Care Funding Instrument are available on the Health website.
ACFI contact details:
ACFI business rules and funding queries: acfi@health.gov.au or 1800 500 853ACFI payments (Medicare Australia): 1800 195 206
ACFI online claiming and eBusiness (Medicare Australia): 1800 700 199
Common questions on this topic:
- Can my care level change after I have been in the home for a while? Would a home ask me to leave?
- Will my fees be affected by my classification scale?
See all common questions