ASM implementation: Priority areas for
2015-16
August 2015
The HACC Program is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments
Introduction
The Bulletin provides information on Department of
Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) ASM priority
areas for 2015-16. It provides information about current
and planned activities and projects that will occur in
2015-16 to further embed ASM practice.
This Bulletin highlights

Findings from the ASM Prepare 3 year review
which identify opportunities for improvement

Current or planned projects that will address
many of the practice areas identified as less
progressed

Training and workforce

Diversity planning and practice.
Other departmental priority areas are described in this
bulletin including the implementation of recently
published ASM resources and two projects arising from
the transition of the HACC Program.
The department has funded a number of projects to
progress ASM practice in these areas. These are
described below.
Interagency care planning
E- care planning: Phase 2: This project involved four
regions, five PCPs and 12 agency clusters to promote
the use of interagency/shared support plans for older
people with complex needs. The project funded
technical enhancements to the S2S e-care planning
module to improve its useability. The enhanced S2S ecare planning module is now available for all agencies
to use.
Project timeframes: The final report will be available in
September 2015.
Contact: Heather Russell
Heather.m.russell@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Client reviews
ASM Prepare: 3 year review findings
N&W region is leading a project which will develop a
feedback and monitoring framework for community
care workers (CCW) to document their observations of
client progress towards their goals. Recording this
information will make a significant contribution to the
client review process. This work builds on an earlier
project carried out in Whitehorse City Council which
highlighted the critical role CCW play in implementing
the ASM approach.
The ASM PREPARE review report identified agencies’
progress towards implementing ASM across all the
service coordination elements and opportunities for
further improvement.
This is an important area of work as the Community
Care Common Standards reviews also identified review
and reassessment (Expected outcome 2.4) as an
outcome with one of the lowest levels of compliance.
Service coordination practices identified as
comparatively less progressed were:
Project timelines: The project will be completed by
December 2015
This information will inform and guide regions and
individual agencies in identifying their own ASM
priorities in their 2015-16 ASM implementation plans.

Review
Contact: N&W region Carolyn Bolton

Interagency care planning
carolynb@hwpcp.org.au

Service exit/transition

Gathering information on client outcomes

Diversity planning and practice
Service closure/transition
BSW region has commenced planning for a project
which will document good practice around service
closure and transition. The project will be supported by
the South West HACC Alliance.
Project completion: June 2016
Contact: BSW region Sandra Love
SLove@warrnambool.vic.gov.au
Gathering information on client outcomes
DHHS is in the second stage of a state-wide project to
develop and trial a suite of ASM outcome measures for
client and carers. Approximately 30 HACC funded
agencies will pilot the measures between July and
November in 2015. The consultant, La Trobe University
will provide a final report which will contain the outcome
measurement tools and guides for use.
Project Completion: March 2016
Contact details: Heather Russell
Heather.m.russell@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Diversity planning and Practice
ASM PREPARE review results showed a slightly lower
self-rating of diversity planning and practice in all
service coordination practices and in some HACC
activity types.
Agencies would be advised to consider their practice in
these areas and prioritise their responsiveness to
people with diverse needs in their 2015-16 ASM plans.
Sharing Innovative practice
ASM PREPARE review findings reported that agencies
were keen to share innovative ASM practices across
regions.
Sharing innovative practice is a priority for ASM
implementation and occurs in many ways. The ASM
industry consultants (ICs) meet monthly in order to
share information between regions and work
collaboratively on various regional and state-wide
projects. They are an important conduit for
disseminating information about innovative ASM
practices/projects occurring outside your region.
All regions have worked locally on projects and
initiatives to progress targeted areas of ASM practice.
Much of this work has benefited HACC agencies statewide.
A couple of examples are:
 The recent Planned Activity Group forum held in
Barwon South-West showcased the work of a
particular sector within HACC. The forum attracted
huge interest state-wide and will be repeated in
metropolitan Melbourne 28 August 2015.
 Toolkits developed in the EMR – the Goal directed
care planning toolkit and the more recent Consumer
Feedback Toolkit have been distributed statewide
and provided the impetus for training in these areas.
For more information ask your ASM Industry
Consultant
Training and workforce development
Workforce training is a key enabler of the ASM
approach.
The ASM Prepare report identified that training
including on-the-job capacity building is critical to ASM
implementation. Providing opportunities for peer
review, peer reflection, and mentoring are some of the
processes used in workplaces to build staff confidence
and translate their learning into everyday practice.
DHHS and ASM ICs will work with local Alliances and
networks to promote on-the-job capacity building,
identifying where there is good practice in the sector
and sharing the learnings within their regions and statewide.
State-wide Education and Training provider
Chisholm provides training that embeds an ASM focus
for all courses available through the training calendar:
hacc:chisholm.edu.au. Currently on offer is training that
builds on recently published ASM resources such as
the Easy Living Equipment Guide and the PAG
assessment and care planning guide. This training
should be promoted to the workforce.
Other training specifically focussed on the ASM
approach such as goal directed care planning is still
being offered on the training calendar.
Contact: Christine Robinson
Christine.robinson@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Implementing ASM resources
Over the past year DHHS has funded a number of
resources to support ASM implementation.
To ensure these resources are taken up, ASM ICs will
assist agencies to implement these resources on the
ground. This might be through forums, workshops or
one-on-one discussions.
Active Service model (ASM) implementation: Priority areas 2015-16
2
The key resources are:

Assessment and care planning in Planned
Activity Groups: Make it meaningful 2015

Easy Living Equipment: 2014

Consumer Feedback Toolkit EMR 2015

Volunteer Resource EMR 2013

Beyond Ramps and Rails: Celebrating
innovative occupational therapy in HACC
(project still in progress)
Aligning ASM to wellness,
reablement and restorative care
Building pathways between Access
and Support and HACC assessment
services
The Diversity Planning and Practice review identified
the need for closer working relationships between
HACC assessment services (HAS) and Access and
support services (A&S).
The department will commence a project in
consultation with ECCV and the MAV which will
develop strategies to build closer working partnerships
between A&S and HAS.
Contact: Ruth Reading
Ruth.reading@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Living well at home: CHSP Good Practice Guide is now
available on the DSS My Aged Care website.
This guide describes the concepts of wellness,
reablement and restorative care, how these
approaches can be implemented by Commonwealth
Home Support Program (CHSP) service providers
including the role of with My Aged Care Regional
assessment services in the client pathway.
For more information contact your regional ASM IC
Region
ASM Industry Consultant contacts
EMR
Lisa Dean 98341738
lisa.dean@dhhs.vic.gov.au
SMR
Paula Clancy 95994714
pclancy@bayside.vic.gov.au
DHHS will begin to scope how the ASM approach
maps to the CHSP concepts of wellness, reablement
and restorative care.
Contact: Kath Paine Kath.paine@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Linkages Reablement Project
DHHS has commenced a project with Linkages
providers and other key stakeholder in the SMR to
explore the scope for transforming Linkages packages
for people aged over 65 to a short term reablement
service. The state-wide Linkages Network will be
involved and consulted.
Project timeframes: The project will proceed in two
stages. Stage 1 will develop a reablement service
model by October 2015. Stage 2 will trial the model
prior to HACC transition. This will occur following a
decision by DHHS in consultation with the Department
of Social Services whether to proceed or not with the
trial.
Alison Clarke 95994714
aclarke@bayside.vic.gov.au
NWMR
Carolyn Bolton 0499 784 465
carolynb@hwpcp.org.au
BSW
Karen Cameron 5251 4656
karen.cameron@bch.org.au
Sandra Love 55594459
SLove@warrnambool.vic.gov.au
Gippsland
Richard Adams 0427097308
Richard.adams@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Grampians
Wendy Altmann 53336402
wendy.altmann@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Hume
Beth Dawson 0260557861
beth.dawson@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Loddon
Mallee
Liz Foster 0427406673
liz.foster@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Contact: Heather Russell
Heather.m.russell@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Active Service model (ASM) implementation: Priority areas 2015-16
Rosemary Duffield 0448271176
Rduffield@schs.com.au
3