Aged care update archive

Document and workflow checks

• Update version-controlled residential funding assumptions for 1 October 2026, retaining the prior and new AN-ACC prices, effective date, official source, and checked date.
• Record that care minutes requirements, AN-ACC Base Care Tariffs and classification weightings do not change and that the hotelling supplement remains $22.15 per resident per day; do not change staffing, classification or fee workflows solely because of this price update.
• Treat $325 per resident per day as the Department's estimated average, not a home-specific forecast or entitlement, and keep this price change separate from wage implementation and GO8512 grant eligibility and evidence.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

This is a national price update, not a provider-specific payment, resident fee, entitlement, care-minutes determination or staffing instruction, and it does not mean every home will receive the estimated average. The Department says this announcement does not change care minutes requirements, AN-ACC Base Care Tariffs or classification weightings, and the hotelling supplement remains $22.15 per resident per day. CaresLink does not calculate funding, entitlement, staffing, fees, payroll, accounting or compliance outcomes.

Document and workflow checks

• Classify each home and funding stream as in scope under AN-ACC and related subsidies or supplements, or excluded as NATSIFACP or MPSP, and record the basis.
• Add 1 July 2027 and 30 June 2029 to a versioned finance transition register. Identify new homes expected to operate from 1 July 2027 and assign owners for advance, arrears, reconciliation, cash-flow, claim, payment-statement, and software records.
• Model the documented additional 4.17% monthly advance reduction separately from total funding, and retain the existing end-of-calendar-month claim handoff unless later authorised instructions change it.
• Keep both Department sources and their checked dates. Do not infer a provider-specific payment, accounting, liquidity, entitlement, or fee result from the general transition pages.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

This change concerns future payment timing and the mix of advances and arrears; it does not announce additional funding or establish a provider-specific payment outcome. The linked implementation page says there is no new claim process, but neither source determines a provider's reconciliation, cash-flow, accounting, resident entitlement, or fee outcome. CaresLink does not determine entitlement, claims, accounting treatment, liquidity compliance, or readiness.

Document and workflow checks

• Replace instructions that rely on ordered printed stock with the current official online route and Services Australia form landing pages.
• Check the person's circumstances against the current official route before referring to SA456, SA457, or SA485, and record the source checked date rather than storing financial evidence in CaresLink.
• Before a financial-hardship handoff, confirm whether Services Australia already holds a cost-of-care calculation updated within the previous 12 months, and recheck paper fallback instructions near 30 November 2026.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

The change ends printed-form ordering through the print ordering system; it does not abolish paper applications. CaresLink does not select a form, determine whether a person must apply, assess financial hardship, calculate costs or contributions, receive evidence, or provide legal, financial, eligibility, billing, or professional advice.

Document and workflow checks

• Assign owners across workforce, payroll, finance, and operational teams.
• Record which classifications and official pay source were reviewed outside CaresLink.
• Keep written communication dates, timing notes, and any back-pay follow-up owner.
• Maintain funding evidence and record the owner for Quarterly Financial Report information and attestation.
• Check the GO8512 Grant Opportunity Guidelines for full eligibility, claim, and evidence requirements; do not treat the 25% or 50% rate as a share of total wages or total leave liabilities.
• Record the questions deadline of 5:00 pm Canberra time on 29 September 2026 and the application deadline of 2:00 pm Canberra time on 6 October 2026, with an authorised submission owner.
• Keep wage funding records separate from participant pricing and service delivery records.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

CaresLink does not decide grant eligibility, prepare or submit a grant application, promise payment or reimbursement, or provide wage calculations, award interpretation, payroll, industrial relations, pricing, financial, legal, or professional advice.

Document and workflow checks

• Confirm each approved home is in MM5, MM6, or MM7, has no more than 30 operational beds both when applying and when the System Governor decides, and has reasonable alternative clinical care arrangements.
• Submit a separate application and evidence per home. Keep the form, rosters, handover, training, risk, escalation, policies, declaration, submission, and written decision. Do not upload resident data to CaresLink.
• Continue meeting the 24/7 RN requirement until approval takes effect. If approved, record dates, conditions, and change triggers; it cannot start before approval or run for more than 12 months.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

This is not an automatic or blanket exemption. CaresLink does not decide eligibility, approve clinical arrangements, treat on-call or telehealth as an onsite RN, promise timing, or apply for you. Use the current Department form and channel; continue applicable care-minutes, Quality Standards, reporting, Act, Rules, and NATSIFACP duties.

Document and workflow checks

• Keep current contribution, fee, statement, and client-communication settings in place until the 20 September 2026 commencement and an applicable official aged care schedule or assessment update.
• Record 1.75% as the below-threshold rate and 3.75% as the above-threshold rate; do not relabel either percentage as a threshold amount.
• Assign an owner to check the Department of Health and Services Australia for revised Support at Home and residential care schedules, assessment notices, and implementation guidance.
• Use the person's authorised Services Australia assessment or official notice for individual outcomes; do not calculate or promise a contribution, fee, refund, or payment change from this determination alone.
• Date any future template, price-discussion, budget, invoice, statement, or communication change and keep pre- and post-20 September settings distinguishable.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

This determination changes deeming rates from 20 September 2026; it does not itself calculate an individual's income assessment, Support at Home contribution, residential care fee, pension, refund, or payment. CaresLink does not provide financial, legal, regulatory, accounting, or professional advice.

Document and workflow checks

• Replace public and internal wording that still presents 30 June 2027 as the final announced CHSP funding end point, while retaining the source and checked date.
• Keep CHSP and Support at Home as distinct program labels in current service, client, workforce, grant, and system documents.
• Check provider-specific grant instructions and agreement changes through the authorised channel rather than treating the public announcement as an executed grant variation.
• Route the Department's provider letter when it arrives; keep its process, timing, and grant actions separate from public fact-sheet wording.
• Assign an owner to monitor the 2026 consultation and record proposals separately from approved future design decisions.
• Review workforce, service-continuity, vendor, and communication plans against the additional 2-year horizon without promising funding or service outcomes for an individual provider.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

This announcement does not confirm a provider's grant variation, future funding amount, eligibility, service continuity, or the final long-term design. CaresLink does not provide grant, legal, regulatory, financial, or professional advice.

Document and workflow checks

• Record the 20 August template version and compare it with any local working copy before replacing fields or instructions.
• Confirm whether the reporting entity includes MPSP services; mixed MPSP and other residential operations should ask the Department to confirm the CMPS scope.
• Map the statement inputs to approved care-time, expense, registered-nurse coverage, occupied-bed-day, and reconciliation evidence owners, including RN coverage percentage for homes with an approved RN exemption.
• Confirm external-auditor eligibility and independence, evidence handoff, review dates, and unresolved questions without relying on an assumed Department-approved list.
• Keep changes between the statement, Quarterly Financial Report, and other source records visible for authorised review; do not independently resubmit an earlier QFR unless the Department requests it after validation.
• Use the reporting periods already included in the current official audit-report template rather than adding or removing periods.
• Use current Department guidance and the formal submission channel; do not upload provider financial, workforce, resident, or audit evidence to CaresLink.

Related CaresLink resources

Usage boundary

This update does not determine whether a mixed MPSP and residential operation is in scope, validate an RN exemption, approve an auditor, or authorise a QFR resubmission or template-period change. CaresLink does not prepare, audit, reconcile, certify, or submit a Care Minutes Performance Statement or ACFR and does not provide audit, accounting, legal, regulatory, financial, or professional advice.