We approve residential care homes that meet the requirements of the Aged Care Act 2024 (Aged Care Act) and the Aged Care Rules 2025.
We work with applicants to understand their business needs. We give advice and guidance to support new residential care homes and help applicants start operating.
The approval process
The approval process we use for a residential care home depends on if the applicant is:
- already registered to provide residential aged care
- not registered to provide residential aged care.
Registered to provide residential aged care
If the applicant is registered to provide residential aged care services (Category 6), they need to apply to us to:
- approve the residential care home
- add the home to their registration.
We decide if we’re going to approve a residential care home within 90 days of applicants submitting their application.
Not registered to provide residential aged care
If the applicant isn’t registered to provide residential aged care services, they need to meet:
- the registration requirements. This includes showing us they can conform with (meet) the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (strengthened Quality Standards)
- the residential care home approval requirements.
We usually decide if we’re going to approve a residential care home within 90 days of the applicant receiving our final audit report. The audit is part of the process to become a registered provider.
We assess registration applications and residential care home approval applications at the same time, but they’re separate processes.
We charge fees for assessing applications and doing audits. Some applicants are eligible for a full or partial fee waiver (fee reduction). You can find out more on our registration fees webpage.
Residential care home approval
When we assess your application for us to approve a residential care home, we check that:
- you’re a provider registered in Category 6, or you have applied to become one
- the home meets the definition of a residential care home under section 10 of the Aged Care Act
- you own the premises or have permission from the owner to use it as a residential care home
- the buildings that make up the home are permanent
- the buildings and the total number of beds will not be a risk to providing quality and safe residential care
- the total number of beds will be less than or equal to the number of beds stated in the certificate of occupancy (or equivalent document).
Certificate of occupancy or equivalent document
We‘ll make our final decision about approving a residential care home when we receive a copy of the certificate of occupancy or equivalent document. This needs to state the number of beds in the residential care home, or the total number of older people who can stay in the residential care home.
If you don’t have the certificate of occupancy or equivalent document when you apply, you can let us know and provide the document when it’s available.
We’ll start assessing the application. This can help keep the approval process moving and reduce the time between applying and opening the residential care home.
When to apply
If you’re already registered in Category 6, you should submit your application within 90 days of when you expect to receive a certificate of occupancy or equivalent document.
If you’re not registered in Category 6, we’ll need to do an audit. You should submit your application earlier than 90 days.
Contact us to talk about when to submit your application. You can tell us the date you’re planning to open the residential care home. We can discuss timeframes, including registration, audit and other assessment requirements.
You can find our application forms on applications requests and notifications.
Provider registration
To deliver government-funded aged care services in a residential care home, a provider must be registered in Category 6: Residential care. That means you must:
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be suitable to provide aged care services
- show that each of your responsible persons is suitable to deliver aged care services (section 13 of the Aged Care Act)
- have a record of sound financial management
- plan to deliver all services in Category 6 in the 3-year period after the application
- have the commitment, capability (skills) and capacity (resources) to deliver Category 6 services
- have (or have applied for approval for) at least one residential care home that meets the approval requirements
- show you can conform with the strengthened Quality Standards
- have policies, procedures and systems to manage Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RADs).
Applicants who want to charge more than the maximum RAD amount for a room (or part of a room) must also apply to the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) for RAD approval. You can ask IHACPA for conditional approval when a residential care home is still under construction. You can find out more on the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority website.
You can find out more about provider registration on becoming a registered provider.
Our decision
When we’ve assessed your application, we’ll send you:
- a notice of our decision
- a statement of reasons for our decision.
If we approve the residential care home, the notice will include the date the decision takes effect.
Procedural fairness
When we make a decision, we make sure we are fair. This means:
- asking you for more information if we need it
- letting you know if we’re considering refusing your application, so you can respond to our concerns
- if we refuse your application, you can apply to have the decision reconsidered.
You can find out more about procedural fairness in the Provider Registration Policy.
Residential aged care funding
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website provides information about:
- funding for residential aged care
- what you need to do before providing residential aged care services to be eligible to receive government funding.
Information my financier or bank may need to know
We can’t guarantee we’ll register you to deliver aged care, or approve your residential aged care home, before we complete an assessment. But you can tell your financiers or lenders that:
- our registration and approval processes and requirements are clear and transparent
- we support applicants that show commitment, capability and capacity to provide aged care services
- we help applicants understand the requirements, check that they are ready to apply, and improve their application before and during the assessment process
- we provide guidance, readiness support and early engagement services that give feedback specific to applicants. These supports help applicants show that they meet the registration requirements
- there is no limit on the number of approvals available.
When applicants meet the requirements, we can grant registration and approval.
Scenarios
Scenario 1: Provider is registered in Category 6
The provider registered in Category 6 is building a residential care home.
The provider will:
- apply to us to vary their registration to add a new residential care home
- provide a certificate of occupancy or equivalent document.
We will:
- assess the application and make a decision after we receive the certificate of occupancy or equivalent document
- add the residential care home to the provider’s registration if they meet the requirements.
Scenario 2: Provider is registered in any of categories 1 to 5 (but not Category 6)
The provider is registered to deliver funded aged care services, but not in a residential care home (Category 6). They are building a residential care home.
The provider will apply to us to vary their registration to add:
- Category 6
- a new residential care home.
We will:
- audit the provider to make sure they meet the Category 6 registration requirements
- assess the residential care home and decide if we‘ll approve it, after we receive a certificate of occupancy or equivalent document
- register the provider in Category 6 if they meet the requirements
- approve the residential care home and add it to their registration.
Scenario 3: The applicant is not a registered provider
The applicant is not a registered provider. They’re building a residential care home.
The applicant will:
- apply to us to be registered as a provider to deliver Category 6 services
- apply to have at least one residential care home added to their registration (for example, the care home they are building).
We will:
- assess the applicant against general requirements
- audit the provider to make sure they meet the Category 6 registration requirements
- assess the residential care home
- finalise our assessment after we receive a certificate of occupancy or equivalent document
- register the provider in Category 6 if they meet the requirements
- approve the residential care home and add it to their registration.
More information
You can find out more about the application and assessment process in our Provider Registration Policy.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing provides information about:
- funding for residential aged care
- what to do before providing residential aged care services to be eligible to receive government funding.
You can contact us if you have questions about applying for residential care home approval or registration.