Compulsory reporting to the Department of Health for public sector residential aged care services (PSRACS)

Alleged or Suspected Physical Assault or Sexual Assault Report and Missing Person Report

Page contents: Commonwealth Government requirements | Reporting to Victorian Department of Health | Key elements | Submitting the form | Documents required

Commonwealth Government Compulsory Reporting Requirements

Since 2007 the Commonwealth Government, Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has required that aged care providers subsidised under the Aged Care Act 1997, including residential aged care services, Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs), Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH), EACH Dementia and transitional programs report allegations or suspicions of physical or sexual assaults relating to residents and clients. The requirement is aimed at providing protection against abuse of elderly people in residential care homes and in receipt of community aged care package support, as well as providing a greater capacity to investigate incidents of alleged sexual and physical assault.

The Commonwealth Government's Aged Care Complaints Scheme (the Scheme) is managed by the Office for Aged Care Quality and Compliance within DoHA, the agency mandated by the Aged Care Act 1997 to investigate complaints.

Further reforms require that residential aged care services report incidents of missing residents where the absence is unexplained and the absence has been reported to the police. The Scheme must be notified as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours after the provider reports the absence to police.

For full details see http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-quality-guidelines-cr-ap.htm

Reporting to the Victorian Department of Health

A process for reporting allegations of suspicions of physical assault and unlawful sexual contact to the Victorian Department of Health was established in 2007. The reporting is consistent with accountability principles that underpin funding to all Victorian public health services. All Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services (PSRACS) must notify the department of these reports, at the same time or within 24 hours of advising the Scheme, Victoria Police and resident's family.

The additional requirement to report missing persons has been integrated into the reporting process for alleged and/or suspected sexual and physical assaults. Hospital Circular 3/2010 outlines these requirements. Refer to the link: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/hospitalcirculars/circ10/circ0310.htm

A link has been established to the form on the Victorian Department of Health Aged Care website below.

Essential elements in compulsory reporting of allegations of physical assault, unlawful sexual contact and incidents of missing residents from PSRACS

The key elements are:

• Reports must be made to both the Police, the Scheme within 24 hours of the allegation being made or the approved provider starting to suspect on reasonable grounds, that a reportable assault may have occurred or that a resident is missing where the absence is unexplained.
  
• For further details regarding DoHA’s requirement to report incidents of missing residents to the Scheme see page 21 of: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/75A3796E08F4B81BCA257523007D16B3/$File/legislat%20guide.pdf

• Compulsory reports can be made to the Scheme on 1800 550 552.
  
  
• Notification must be made to the Victorian Department of Health at the same time, or within 24 hours of reporting to Police and the Scheme as per Hospital Circular 3/2010 using the link to the PSRACS incident form below or using the pdf form option.
  
  
• A service may notify or discuss the incident with their departmental regional contact and Frank Carlus on (03) 9096 7795 prior to submitting a completed incident form.
  
  
• When available, copies of the Scheme reports on incident investigation outcomes must also be forwarded to the Victorian Department of Health. This may include referrals of the incident to another authority such as the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency.
  
  
• In some instances, follow up information will need to be provided to the Victorian Department of Health, particularly where a missing resident is not located straight away. The Victorian Department of Health will forward an ‘Incident Outcome’ form in these circumstances.
  
  

Submit the form to the Victorian Department of Health

• Please notify the Victorian Department of Health using following the form available on this page - https://hnb.dhs.vic.gov.au/eForms/eForms.nsf/FormsForPreview/67A32FAC975E5258CA2578A30081F250?OpenDocument
  

• Alternatively, use the pdf form below and fax via this confidential fax line: 1300 658 090.

Documents required by the Victorian Department of Health

• Once the incident investigation process has been completed by the Scheme and correspondence to the service confirms this, please forward copies of these documents and/or reports, to the Victorian Department of Health via email or fax provided below.
  
  
• For more information regarding this form please contact:
  

Manager, Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services
Tel: (61 3) 9096 7795
Fax: 1300 658 090
Email: psracscir@health.vic.gov.au

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