This is Palliative Care Australia’s (PCA) submission to the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) on the 'Towards an Aged Care Pricing Framework' consultation paper.

PCA is of the view that all aspects of the provision of aged care, including the pricing framework for residential aged care and residential respite care, must have the flexibility to support quality, timely and person-centred palliative care.

PCA's 'National Palliative Care Standards and the National Palliative Care Standards for All Health Professionals and Aged Care Services' (collectively, the PCA Standards) have been developed with the aim of supporting better experiences and outcomes for people receiving palliative care. PCA encourages IHACPA to consider the Standards for specialists and all health professionals.

In this submission PCA advocates for a funding model that supports the provision of best practice palliative care by being flexible, ensuring continuity of care and responding quickly to an individual’s rapidly changing care needs. This would align with the principles of the PCA Standards, the Aged Care Quality Standards, and the human right to health.

Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority - Toward an Aged Care Pricing Framework

31 October 2022