Approved provider application fee

The Commission receives a large number of applications from organisations seeking approved provider status.

The fees were introduced to improve the quality of submissions and improve the efficiency of the approval process of provider applications.

Organisations applying to become an approved provider of aged care must satisfy a number of criteria and meet obligations under the Aged Care Act 1997. Approved provider applications must be complete, accurate and include detailed information about how the organisation will deliver aged care services to eligible older Australians.

The Commission is not able to process incomplete or poorly completed applications, for example, if an applicant does not supply required supporting documentation or fails to fully outline their suitability to provide aged care services. In these circumstances, additional information may be required from the applicant before the Commission is able to assess the application.

Where the Commissions requests further information, the following fees apply:

More details can be found in the Aged Care Approved Provider Applicant Guide.

The processes of applying for approved provider status and the Commission’s subsequent assessment require focused time and effort. The application process is directly linked to the requirements that the Commission must consider in relation to the suitability of applications seeking approval under Part 7A of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018.

The Commission is committed to continuously improving the provider approval process, including ensuring the content of the application form and the publicly available guidance support applicants to fully understand the process and the information they need to submit.

The application form and guidance are regularly revised so that areas which applicants have either misunderstood or appear to have difficulty responding to are further explained or the requirements expressed more clearly.

The Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines, which outline how cost recovery activity must take place, place a strong emphasis on efficiency.

When applicants lodge their completed approved provider application, the Commission will identify the care and services they are seeking approval to provide.

Within 10 business days, the Commission will send an invoice for the relevant application fee.

All application fees may be waived where the applicant intends to provide all or at least 85% of the services to consumers located in the Modified Monash Model areas 6 and 7 – regions which are remote or very remote. There are no other circumstances where these fees will be waived.

Visit the Department of Health’s website to find out more about the Modified Monash Model.

Applicants proposing to operate in these areas are nearly always dealing with unmet needs and difficult service circumstances.

Yes. However, the Commission will not benefit financially because the funding it receives from the Australian Government will be reduced by the amount collected through fees.

Before any fees can be imposed, the procedural requirements detailed in the Australian Government Cost Recovery Guidelines must be met. The Department of Finance has approved a costing model that calculates the precise cost of assessing applications for approved provider status and quantifies the precise fee. The charging model is based on detailed modelling, over an extended period of time, of the effort and cost to the Commission of undertaking assessment of applications for provider approval status.

The Commission must comply with Department of Finance guidelines on the implementation and review of cost recovery arrangements. The Commission conducts an annual review of fees prior to each financial year, which considers the indexed fees and forward financial estimates and revenue expenses. In addition to this, these guidelines require fees to be updated when there are changes to a cost recovered activity. Therefore, if there is a substantial change to the effort the Commission makes when assessing applications for approved provider status, a new consultation will be undertaken, and the fees changed (either increased or decreased).

Any adjustment in the fees will be foreshadowed in a Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) which will explain the revised fees and how they were calculated and will be published on the Commission’s website prior to the new fees commencing. The CRIS will include information about review dates and related stakeholder engagement/consultation.

Applicants receiving the Viability Supplement will have to pay the fees but may have them waived if they intend to provide all or at least 85% of their services to consumers located in the Modified Monash Model (MMM) areas 6 and 7 – regions which are remote or very remote.

Visit the Department of Health’s website to find out more about the MMM, and to find out which MMM area/s you plan to deliver services in.

No, the fees paid will not be refunded.

Yes, the fee must be paid each time an application is made.

Yes, in addition to the annual review of fees prior to each financial year, which considers the indexed fees and forward financial estimate and revenue expenses, the cost recovery arrangements were scheduled to be reviewed 12 months from introduction (November 2022). This review was to consider the impact of the cost recovery arrangements on the volumes of approved applications (market entry), application quality and fee waiver arrangements.

Since commencement of charging in November 2021, and following the significant surge in applications in the weeks immediately prior to the commencement of fees, the number of applications has been low and is considered unlikely to be significant enough to support a review and the making of findings. If the pattern of low application numbers continues, the Commission will defer the November 2022 review until June 2023, to coincide with the regular annual review. It is hoped that sufficient data will have been received to enable firm conclusions about the performance of the fee arrangements. External stakeholder consultation will be part of this process.

Fees will continue to be reviewed annually, with bi-annual reviews of the broader arrangements. This review regime will include ad hoc reviews should significant changes emerge to the cost or process of applying to become an approved provider of aged care.