Our 4-stage approval process

Applications to become an aged care service provider go through our 4-stage assessment process.

Stages

1. Validity check (can take up to 10 business days)

Your application must be valid and it must:

be in writing
use the form approved by us
include documents or information asked for by us
be accompanied by any fee required by us.

Once we receive the form, we will:

check that it's valid
check the information in the form
check any attached documents
issue the invoice if it's valid
confirm receipt of the fee.

Applications that don’t pass the validity check will be returned, and no fee will be charged.

We'll call you and let you know whether your application is valid. This will also be confirmed in writing.

2. Initial assessment (can take up to 10 business days)

During this stage, we check:

your organisation’s records held with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), including shareholders and holding companies
ASIC records of your organisation’s key personnel, including directors and board members
your record of compliance if providing care under another Australian Government-subsidised scheme.

You’ll receive an email once your application passes this stage.

If your application doesn’t pass, we may need to send you a Request for Information. We might need to ask for more information about your key personnel or financial information.

Additional fees apply for each Request for Information notice. For this reason, it's important to ensure you have told us as much as possible about your organisation when you submit your application to us.

If you don't pay the Request for Information fee, we'll assess your application without the additional information. If this happens, your application may fail because we won't have the information to make a fully informed decision.

Your application is automatically withdrawn if you don’t provide the requested information within 28 days. Any paid fees won’t be refunded.

3. Formal assessment (can take up to 90 days)

A senior assessor reviews your application and drafts a recommendation to the delegate.

If the senior assessor identifies further gaps, they may need to send you a Request for Information. This will be sent once you've paid an additional fee.

As in step 2, your application is automatically withdrawn if you don’t provide the requested information within 28 days. Fees won’t be refunded.

If this occurs, the timeframe stops. It starts again when the requested information is received.

4. Decision and finalisation

The delegate reads the senior assessor’s recommendation and any application information you provided. They'll decide the outcome of your application.

A written decision is sent to you within 14 days of the decision being made. If your application isn't approved, a statement of reasons is provided. Read this carefully. The written decision will also tell you your review rights.

Changes to an application during assessment

If you make changes to your organisation or how you plan to operate, and those changes affect the accuracy of your application, you must let us know immediately.

Tell us about those changes by emailing us at approvedproviderapplications@agedcarequality.gov.au. Ensure you provide enough information to help us identify the effect of that change, including the relevant area of the application form or supporting document.

For example, if your registered nurse resigns before a decision is made, you must tell us. You must also tell us your plans for replacing the registered nurse, including how long you believe it will take to undertake recruitment.

If your application is approved

We send a notice of approval, telling you the next steps in the process.

If your application isn't approved

You have 2 options if we don’t approve your application:

you can reapply
you can request a reconsideration.

Reapply

If you reapply, you must complete a new application form. You will need to pay another application fee.

Request a reconsideration

To request a reconsideration of a non-approval decision, you must submit a written request. You must do this within 14 days of receiving the written decision notice. Submit applications for reconsideration to reconsideration@agedcarequality.gov.au.

Include the subject line “Director Reviews and Reconsiderations – request for reconsideration under s74K of the Commission Act”.

A new assessor will review your application and the original decision. A different and independent delegate will also be assigned.

In your email:

tell us why you’re making the request
address specific areas we identified as reasons for non-approval
supply any evidence you’d like to be considered.

The possible outcomes of reconsideration are:

we confirm the decision
we vary the decision
we set the decision aside and make a new decision.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

The original decision is confirmed if we don't respond to your request for reconsideration within 90 days. You can then seek a review by applying to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

To do this, you must: