Managing Temporary Leave
Temporary leave is when a permanent resident temporarily stops receiving care while their place is held for them. Leave does not affect a resident's right to their place, but depending on the type and length of leave it can affect the subsidy the government pays and the fees the resident is charged.
This article covers the leave types, how to record a leave period, how each leave type affects fees, and how leave balances work.
Temporary leave applies to permanent residents. Respite residents are not covered by the leave provisions. Absences during a respite stay are handled by agreement, as described in Managing Residential Respite Care.
Leave types
Maica supports the leave types recognised by Services Australia.
Social
52 days per financial year. The resident must stay overnight elsewhere.
Hospital
Unlimited days.
Transition Care
For a resident moving into transition care after a hospital stay.
Emergency
Declared by the Australian Government during a significant event such as a disaster or pandemic. Does not consume social leave.
Recording a leave period
You record leave from the resident's record using the leave action.
Open the leave action on the resident's record.
Choose the leave type and enter the start date, and the end date if it is known.
Submit. Maica records the leave period and submits a Leave Event to Services Australia.
The leave start date is inclusive for payment. The end date is not inclusive. If the resident is still on leave, you can record the leave without an end date and add it when they return.
Fee treatment during leave
How leave affects fees depends on the leave type. The billing engine reads the leave period and applies the right treatment automatically, with one exception noted below.
Social
Fees and accommodation costs continue. The government pays the subsidy up to the 52-day annual limit. Beyond 52 days, the government stops paying the subsidy for the extra days.
Hospital
Fees and accommodation costs continue. From day 29, the government stops paying the variable part of the subsidy, which can reduce the resident's means tested care fee.
Transition Care
All fees and accommodation costs continue unchanged.
Emergency
Fees and accommodation costs continue. Emergency leave does not consume social leave days.
The day 29 hospital leave reduction is not applied automatically. The billing engine continues to bill the means tested care fee at the configured rate. Monitoring hospital stays that reach 28 days and adjusting the resident's fee where appropriate is a provider responsibility. Adjust the rate on the Fees tab if a reduction applies.
Leave balances
Some leave types consume an annual balance and some do not.
Social
Yes, consumes the social leave allocation
Transition Care
Yes, consumes the transition care allocation
Hospital
No
Emergency
No
Leave balances are synced from Services Australia, reset on 1 July each year, and transfer with the resident if they change providers.
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