INVITATION TO APPLY FOR FUNDING
NATIONAL RESPITE FOR CARERS PROGRAM (NRCP)
2012 – 2014 FUNDING ROUND
Instructions for Submitting Applications for Funding
· Applications close at 2pm Canberra Time on 14 December 2012 (Closing Time)
· You must submit your Application by courier or hand delivery to:
NRCP 2012 – 2014 Funding Round
Department of Health and Ageing
Tender Box – ITA - DoHA / 055/1213
Sirius Building,
Foyer, Ground Floor,
23 Furzer Street
WODEN ACT 2606
NOTE: The Tender Box is accessible for deliveries between the hours of 8:30am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday (public holidays excepted). Do not hand deliver to the security guard, Applications MUST be lodged in the tender box by the Applicant or authorised representative.
You must provide two(2) unbound (i.e. unstapled) copies (Microsoft Word® format, single sided) of your Application AND an electronic copy of the ITA form and the Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet on a USB flash drive.
Late Applications
The Department will only accept late Applications if they are late as a direct result of mishandling by the Department. In all other circumstances, in the interests of fairness, the Department reserves the right not to accept late Applications.
Contact Officer
All enquiries relating to this Invitation to Apply for Funding should be directed in writing to the Contact Officer: . All enquiries by potential Applicants for information or clarification should be e-mailed to this email address. The Department will not answer enquiries over the telephone.
STRUCTURE OF THIS INVITATION TO APPLY
PART A gENERAL INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
PART B ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS
PART C HOW TO APPLY FOR FUNDING
PART D APPLICATION FORM
PART E FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
PART A - GENERAL INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
1 Background
1.1 The Australian Government is expanding funding for the National Respite for Carers Program (NRCP). The expansion, which commences in the 2012-13 financial year, will deliver flexible and responsive respite for carers of frail aged Australians including people with dementia, and people with dementia and challenging behaviours. Funding will provide more respite services to primary carers, particularly those living in areas of identified need through funding new or extended respite services.
1.2 Funding of $12.1 million (GST inclusive) will be provided over 1.5 years (2013-14).
2 Policy Context
2.1 The National Respite for Carers Program is an Australian Government program that provides respite and other support to carers. It funds over 500 community based respite services across Australia, as well as 54 Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres which provide information about community services, and emergency/short term respite for carers. 2012-13 funding allocated to the NRCP totals approximately $214 million.
2.2 The Australian Government funds a range of community care programs through the Department that support older people to remain living in their own homes for as long as possible. These support services aim to assist not only those in need of care, but just as importantly, the carers who look after them in their homes.
2.3 An overview of respite care in Australia, including the mix of respite options for older people funded through the Department, is provided in the National Respite for Carers Program Manual at
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-carers-nrcp.htm-copy2
3 Funding Objectives
3.1 On 20 April 2012, the Prime Minister, the Hon. Julia Gillard and the Hon. Mark Butler MP, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, announced a comprehensive 10 year package to reshape aged care as part of the Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package. As part of the announcement, the Australian Government committed to expand the NRCP for planned respite.
3.2 Funding of $32 million over five years was made available in the 2012-13 Budget with $7 million per year (part year effect of $4 million in 2012-13) distributed under the NRCP. This funding round is aiming to allocate a total of $12.1 million (GST inclusive) until 30 June 2014 with the option of extension under the national respite program, a part of the Home Support Program.
3.3 This expansion round is targeted at providing NRCP services in geographical areas where no or limited existing NRCP services are currently being delivered.
3.4 The carer is the focus of NRCP funded services, however, the provision of respite must be responsive to the assessed needs of the care recipient.
4 What Will Be Funded?
4.1 Funding will be broadly targeted toward supporting and expanding respite for primary carers of frail older Australians (65 years or over, or 50 and over if Indigenous), including people with dementia, and people with dementia and challenging behaviours who are living at home. Applicants will need to clearly identify how the proposed respite services cater for the frail aged.
4.2 A number of respite models are in operation around the country that may be tailored to the needs and preferences of carers and care recipients. These consist of any one or a combination of:
· centre-based day respite – where several care recipients with similar care needs are cared for in a building leased or owned by the service;
· in-home respite, day or overnight, where the care recipient is cared for in their own home;
· host family respite, day or overnight, where the care recipient is cared for in the home of the respite care provider;
· overnight community respite, where the care recipient is cared for, usually in a respite cottage;
· residential day respite – where the care recipient receives day respite in a residential aged care facility;
· community access, group or individual where the care recipient takes part in a community outing; and/or
· mobile respite – respite delivered from a mobile setting.
This ITA seeks to expand access to respite for carers of frail older Australians. Through this funding process, new and existing respite service providers are invited to apply for funding to provide planned respite services under the NRCP.
4.3 Funding can cover establishment costs in 2012-13, as well as the operational costs associated with providing respite services over the life of the project.
4.4 Funding is not intended to be the sole funding stream for the provision of respite services. Applicants are required to identify additional funding that they will bring to the project, including, but not limited to, user contributions, interest and assistance in kind (buildings, vehicles, volunteers) funded through auspice agencies.
4.5 Some groups have difficulty accessing respite care that is appropriate for their specific needs. The NRCP has identified those groups with specific needs as being carers of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, people who are financially disadvantaged, care leavers, and people living in rural and remote locations. Respite services established under this ITA should provide respite care that is appropriate to the respite care needs of people from these groups, and provide respite workers with appropriate cultural awareness training.
5 What Will Not Be Funded?
5.1 Funding is not available under the NRCP for major capital expenditure proposals such as the purchase of buildings or land or building depreciation, except as outlined in the NRCP Program Manual July 2012.
5.2 The cost of police checks for NRCP staff is also excluded from NRCP funding.
5.3 Unless otherwise notified by the Department, service providers must not use operational funding to purchase assets. Please refer to the National Respite for Carers Program Manual at http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-carers-nrcp.htm-copy2
for further information on assets.
6 Who Can Apply for the Funding?
6.1 For legal and accountability reasons, only incorporated bodies are eligible to apply for funding under this program. The types of organisations that may apply for funding include:
· Non-profit/charitable organisations.
· For profit organisations.
· Non-government health care providers.
· Government funded health care providers.
· Aged care providers.
· Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisations.
· Local community groups.
6.2 The Department encourages organisations to form partnerships to deliver projects.
If more than one organisation will be involved in the project, one organisation must be identified as the lead organisation and an authorised representative of the lead organisation must sign the Application Form.
7 How Much Funding is Available?
7.1 Funding is available nationally over one and a half years.
2012-13 / 2013-14$4.0 million (GST exclusive) / $7.0 million (GST exclusive)
7.2 Funding will be distributed through the NRCP on the basis of merit of Applications, with priority given to services in regions of identified need.
7.3 Current HACC regions are the basis for determining funding distributions across regions in the NRCP. A description of the current HACC regions can be found on the Department’s website:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/hacc-region.htm
8 Timeframes
8.1 The Department anticipates that it will have completed the assessment process by early February 2013. Subject to Delegate approval, the Department will then contact the successful Applicants to negotiate and execute the Funding Agreement (see clause9 below).
8.2 The Department will not notify unsuccessful Applicants until it has executed Funding Agreements with the successful Applicants.
9 Funding Agreement
9.1 The successful Applicants will be required to sign a Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth, represented by the Department, before any funding is paid.
9.2 As part of a wider reform agenda to improve efficiencies in grants management, the Department introduced a new type of Funding Agreement from 1 July 2012 onwards. Over time, all aged care grant programs of the Department will use this style of Funding Agreement. The new funding arrangements simplify funding administration for funded Organisations who receive grant funding from a number of Departmental aged care programs.
9.3 There are two parts to the new Funding Agreement:
· The Terms and Conditions for Aged Care Funding (Funding Agreement), and
· Program Schedule for Aged Care Funding (Schedule).
9.4 This will allow for separate Schedules for each funded aged care program. Each Schedule forms an individual contract that needs to be signed and executed. Successful Applicants will have details of their projects (including a project outline, project name and the amount of funding awarded) posted on the Department's website as part of the Department’s legislative reporting obligations.
9.5 The Schedule attached to the Funding Agreement will provide a detailed description of the project based on the Application. The funding will be paid in instalments throughout the project.
9.6 Successful Applicants that receive funding for more than one project/service within a state or territory will be allowed to combine these under a single Schedule. There are some restrictions and requirements:
· The combining of services can only be done within a single state or territory. Successful Applicants with NRCP services across different states or territories will need to have a separate Schedule for each state or territory.
· When combining NRCP services under a Schedule, there will be a single overall budget for the NRCP services and a single payment. This will require a single bank account into which the payment is made. If Applicants require separate bank accounts for each NRCP service, they will need to have a separate Schedule for each.
· Successful Applicants with multiple NRCP services under one Schedule will need to supply details on each individual NRCP service, such as service delivery types. Funding will need to be identified as a dollar amount and as a percentage allocated to each service.
9.7 It is not compulsory to combine multiple NRCP services into a single Schedule and combining may not suit successful Applicants’ different business requirements.
10 Insurance
10.1 The Funding Agreement specifies that a funded Organisation must take out all insurances that are necessary to ensure that the Organisation’s obligations under the Funding Agreement can be covered, including any obligations that may rightfully extend beyond the term of the Funding Agreement. Applicants are required to hold insurance policies that ensure that the participant has sufficient insurance to cover a number of maximum claims should that occur. Types of insurance include:
· Public Liability
· Worker‘s Compensation Insurance
· Professional Indemnity
10.2 Funded Organisations must, on request, promptly provide to the Department any relevant insurance policies or certificates of currency for inspection. Common types of insurance that the Department may request proof of coverage are professional indemnity and public liability. The Commonwealth cannot provide advice on the type and level of insurance that funded Organisations should have, and funded Organisations should refer to their own insurance broker for advice on this.
The minimum level of Public Liability required by the Department is $10 million. Professional Indemnity insurance is required by the Department and must be an amount which is consistent with the outcomes of a risk assessment. The Organisation should perform a risk assessment for the purpose of identifying an appropriate amount of insurance. Insurance for building and contents and worker‘s compensation are required by the relevant state or territory legislation.
11 Impact of Social and Community Services equal remuneration decisions
11.1 On 11 March 2010, the Australian Services Union (ASU), in conjunction with four other unions, lodged a national pay equity application with FWA for certain workers in the social and community service (SACS) sector. The ASU’s application is the first such application to be considered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application followed an equal remuneration decision by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) in May 2009 to grant pay increases of between 18 and 37 per cent to certain employees in the SACS sector, with the increases phased in over three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12.
11.2 On 16 May 2011, a Full Bench of FWA handed down a preliminary decision which found that there was not equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal or comparable value by comparison with workers in state and local government.
11.3 On 10 November 2011, the Prime Minister announced that the Government would help make equal pay a reality by making a joint submission with the ASU to FWA in the equal remuneration case. The Prime Minister also announced a funding commitment for the Commonwealth to meet its share of supplementation to support the Commonwealth’s proportion of costs in this sector arising from the suggested wage increases.