Industry Update, October 2025
Hi Everyone,
It has been some time since my last newsletter with AN ACC and industry updates. I have been working full time on a consulting project for a provider here in the Hunter and was excited to work alongside their staff and see the organisation develop their strategic plans and work to successfully overturn not mets as well as become profitable.
I have now jumped back into the business, and we are looking to expand our services and reach across Australia. I have several consultants now available to support organisations in quality gap analysis to the new standards, roster and care minute optimization, development of HELF and support to implement as well as our AN ACC services and executive / board support.
My website is under renovation – ATACA.co, and you will see opportunities in both education and training as well as ease in booking time with me to discuss any support you need or questions you may have. Our consultants will be up very soon as well so you can explore their specialties and services.
I am still working with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing in the Aged Care Funding Reform Committee and can share some information in this newsletter about the changes being discussed.
It is good to be back in the business, and I hope to chat with everyone soon 😊
-- Karina
AN ACC Updates
- The increase to funding on 1 October encompasses the fair work commission increases to award wages both in 2025 and up to June 2026. Including hotel staff wages expected to be announced in March 2026. However, it appears the full amount of the increase has not been passed on.
- AN ACC now includes both the hotelling supplement and the outbreak supplement.
- The pure AN ACC funding amount has decreased year on year despite the governments publications that they are now providing more funding then ever to aged care.
- The algorithm that sits behind the compounding factors and scoring of the AN ACC assessments has now changed. As previous, we will not know these changes and will have to work them out ourselves.
- The AN ACC assessment and AN ACC operations emails are not being monitored regularly and do not have a dedicated team supporting our industry to reply to your concerns. I encourage you to keep emailing and submit complaints. I have escalated to all contacts that I have in the Department with acknowledgement of the difficulties of this situation. Up to 6 weeks to reply to simple questions and often those replies are inadequate!
- The Department has restructured the AN ACC support team within the government, and we no longer have trusted contacts to discuss. I will be raising this again with the funding reform committee.
Care Minutes
You may have noticed recently on social media the escalation of nurse’s unions calling out specific aged care providers for noncompliance to care minutes and the risks to staff and residents. I imagine this will continue to increase as more information is published by the Department on the performance of residential aged care facilities in 2026.
The care minute supplement is a portion of your existing AN ACC funding pulled out and renamed. When the supplement commences in 2026, and if you are not consistently at 100% compliance you will receive penalties by reduction in funding. Compounded with the pre mentioned reduction to AN ACC already, our funding in residential aged care just keeps on dropping.
You will have heard me say many times over recent years, the intention is for providers to source funding other then reliance on the government for aged care in Australia.
Education and Training
I have an AN ACC Masterclass being held in the first week of November, this 2-hour online session will include information and details about AN ACC, Care Minutes and HELF to support ongoing financial viability and compliance to the new standards. I strongly encourage everyone to attend even if you have completed my training sessions previously.
https://events.humanitix.com/an-acc-masterclass-7w7xeu9l?ref=ataca.co
Contact details
Book time in my calendar to chat
karina@ataca.co
0403 158 360
