Final Report on RREF 2001 - Department of Health

Executive Summary
While a number of options were considered, including variables based on take-up of age and
disability support pensions; median household income was identified as the most appropriate
and robust variable. This socio-economic status variable makes the greatest contribution to
need weighting in the RREF model, and remains dominant even in models which make
adjustments to the weightings of other variables. Notwithstanding the close relationship
between socio-economic status and health status, it was considered more appropriate to include
separate variables to capture the somewhat different nature of these two dimensions of need
than to give added weight to the socio-economic variable and exclude the health status variable.
7. The basis on which judgements should be made in allocating
resources between LGAs within regions; and
8. The relationship to local area planning and needs analysis
These Terms of Reference both relate to planning and allocation of the resources that the RREF
allocates on a regional level. There was a widespread view that more consistent and systematic
approaches to resource allocation and service development across all DHS regions was needed
to achieve equity within regions. While planning approaches that were seen to be effective in
some regions may have wider applicability, it also has to be recognised that each region faces a
different pattern of need and a different configuration of existing services. The field was aware
that DHS is currently addressing issues of regional and local planning in HACC, and there was
strong support for progressing HACC planning in conjunction with implementation of a revised
RREF.
The analysis of need variables carried out in the Review provided considerable insight into the
level and nature of variations in total need weightings for LGAs within any one region. This
LGA level data was of considerable interest to the field and access to this type of data was seen
to have a very useful contribution to make to regional planning. At the same time, these data
did not provide a basis for allocating resources to a local level within regions, but needed to be
complemented with a range of other service provision data and local knowledge. The lack of
consistent data on service provision at local and regional level was recognised and the HACC
Minimum Data Set was seen as the means for addressing this problem. Primary Care
Partnerships and the Memorandum of Understanding between DHS and the Municipal
Association of Victoria provide vehicles for exchange of information and discussion at subregional
and local level, and issues such as uneven access to Work to this end is currently
underway in DHS.
In considering approaches to planning and resource allocation at the regional and local level, it
is important to remember that the annual growth funds only add marginally to existing
resources. As by far the major part of resources are bound up in existing services, planning and
service development needs to give at least as much attention to existing services as to new
service development and to use growth funds as a catalyst to adjusting existing services to
respond to changing needs.
<strong>Final</strong> <strong>Report</strong> July 2001
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