Mr Mossfield asked the Minister for Family Services, upon notice, on 29 October 1996:

(1) Is a portion of nursing home entry fees deducted for the purposes of capital works programs and the balance refunded upon transfer to another nursing home or death; if so what portion of the $26 000 entry contribution will be retained by a nursing home for this purpose.

(2) Will hostels and nursing homes be required to provide a percentage of places to financially disadvantaged persons under amalgamation arrangements.

(3) Will the single classification instrument of elderly, frail aged and nursing homes adversely impact upon the staffing and operational ability of the amalgamated bodies; if not, why not.

Mrs Moylan —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) Yes, nursing homes will retain only a portion of entry contributions and will be required to refund the balance when residents leave. There will be strong incentives for these funds to be used for capital purposes.

Under the current hostel system, providers can retain interest from a contribution plus a retention amount of up to $2,600 a year for a maximum of five years. The retention amounts to apply under the new arrangements will be based on the current hostel system, although the precise detail is still being worked out in consultation with industry and consumer representatives.

(2) Yes, on a regional basis. The precise details about how financially disadvantaged persons will be defined and how the ratios will work is still being determined in consultation with industry and consumer representatives.

(3) No. The Single Classification Instrument will ensure a better match between funding and care need for all residents. It will be implemented as part of a simplified, single funding and classification system to apply across the whole sector, which will provide greater flexibility for all facilities in the type of residents they care for and in the operational and staffing arrangements they choose to put into place. There is no expectation that every facility will choose to provide the full range of care. Individual facilities may choose to allow ageing in place or to specialise in one type or level of care. Either way, their operations will be better supported by the new system.