The Australian Parliament passed the Aged Care Bill earlier this week, which gives the aged care industry some much-needed certainty that the new Aged Care Act will take effect on 1 July 2025. However, some key issues remain unresolved.
Aged care and other health businesses are experiencing a wave of reforms leaving many carefully considering their futures – including whether to sell. But how do you get the best sale price with the lowest stress and risk exposure? Here are our top tips.
With significant regulatory and funding changes across the health sector, M&A interest is on the rise. But how do you secure a great growth opportunity and avoid the “lemons”? Here are our top tips.
Proposed changes to NDIS funding have the potential to reshape the NDIS service landscape across Australia, and many providers may need to substantially change their service model to continue receiving NDIS funding.
It is extremely important that retirement village operators regularly audit their contracting documents - i.e. their village contract, annexures to the village contract and any mandatory pre-contractual disclosure documents - on a regular basis and promptly in response to significant events such as a change in law or risk event arising in the village. This article explores some of the questions that need to be answered as part of the audit process.
The beginning of a new year is a useful time to step back and decide what should be done differently to achieve better outcomes in your aged care facility. As aged care lawyers, we see a lot of risk and liability issues arising from the same root cause – unsatisfactory residential care contracts, housed within an unsatisfactory contracts management system. If you own or manage a facility, you already know that residential care contracts should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in law, changes in the facility, and as part of a continuous improvement strategy – but, it can be hard to know where to start. To us, your review should always begin by finding the answer to these essential questions.
It is no exaggeration to say that poor cash flow kills businesses every day. Businesses that go on to survive and thrive have a number of strategies in place to ensure that they are increasing sales and collecting payments on time. One of the best strategies is having a great standard contract in place that makes it easier to collect payments on time and imposes consequences on bad debtors.
Read on to learn more about contract terms that smart businesses use to protect their cash flow:
As a retirement village operator, you are required to provide a safe and suitable environment for your residents to live. Residents also enjoy security of tenure. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for residents to experience a deterioration in their mental or physical health while living in a retirement village. Sometimes, this can mean that the village is no longer a safe place for them to live in. Often, the resident and their family recognises the need to make other arrangements and you as operator can help them transition to a better environment. But what happens if they don’t want to leave despite the risk?
Read on for more information about the four steps an operator should take when there is reason to believe that the resident is too ill to live safely in your retirement village.
