Aged Care Assessments
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Commonwealth Aged Care Assessments
Beacon Consulting Commonwealth Aged Care Assessments are conducted in line with the certification instrument set down by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, and gives the Aged Care service providers an understanding of their status prior to being formally assessed.
Originally aged care buildings where considered either Class 3 (Hostel) or Class 9a (Health care) buildings within the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
The introduction of Class 9c buildings in the BCA in 2002 provided building owners, Aged Care service providers and designers with some certainty regarding the Commonwealth's "ageing in place" requirements.
Class 9c buildings are 'aged care buildings', which are defined by the BCA as being a 'building for residential accommodation of aged persons', who generally require personalised care. Residents of Class 9c buildings generally have varying degrees of incapacity and as a result, 24 hour personal care services provided by staff to assist residents in an emergency evacuation.
Class 3 Hostel building fire systems, as defined under the BCA, were not designed for residents undergoing medical treatment who need assistance to evacuate and since some owners or Aged Care service providers have progressively changed the use of their buildings from Class 3 or 9a to Aged Care buildings (Class 9c) without changing or reviewing the level of fire safety systems within their facility, some Aged Care service providers are in breach of the BCA.
Beacon Consulting will proactively identify the issues and benefits for the conversion of an existing facility from a Class 3 use to a Class 9c use and ensure that building owners and service providers meet minimum requirements for occupants safety and Commonwealth funding.