Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024 (109 of 2024)

Schedule 2   Application, saving and transitional provisions

Part 3   Transitional provisions for Chapter 3 of the new Act

Division 1   Provider registration

5   Registration of entities

Deeming of registered providers

(1) The following entities (within the meaning of the new Act) are taken, at the transition time, to be registered as a registered provider under paragraph 105(1)(a) of the new Act:

(a) an entity that is, immediately before the transition time, an approved provider within the meaning of section 7 of the Commission Act;

(b) an entity that is, immediately before the transition time, the holder of an approval under section 63D of the Commission Act that is suspended under section 63N of that Act.

(2) Despite subitem (1), that subitem does not apply in relation to an entity if the System Governor determines, in accordance with any determination made under subitem (14), that the entity is an inactive provider because the entity had not, before the transition time, claimed subsidy (within the meaning of the old Act) for a period of time that the System Governor considers significant.

Registration period

(3) For the purposes of subitem (1), the entity's registration period for the purposes of section 115 of the new Act is taken to be the period, of no less than 3 months and no more than 3 years and 3 months, determined, in accordance with any determination made under subitem (14), by the System Governor to be appropriate for the provider.

(4) Before making a determination under subitem (3), the System Governor must seek, and take into account, the advice of the Commissioner.

(5) In providing advice for the purposes of subitem (4), the Commissioner must have regard to:

(a) the recency of any audits conducted under the Commission Act in relation to the entity; and

(b) the desirability of ensuring a smooth sequence of audits conducted under section 110 of the new Act.

Registration categories

(6) For the purposes of subitem (1), the entity is, for the purposes of paragraph 105(1)(a) of the new Act, taken to be registered in the registration categories determined by the System Governor (in accordance with any determination made under subitem (14)) to be appropriate for the entity having regard to the following:

(a) the general need for continued delivery of funded aged care services to individuals that correspond as nearly as possible to the types of aged care provided to individuals under the old Act and the services provided under agreements between aged care providers and the Commonwealth;

(b) any types of aged care the entity was, immediately before the transition time, approved to provide under section 63D of the Commission Act;

(c) any services covered in an agreement between the entity and the Commonwealth that was in effect immediately before the transition time;

(d) any types of aged care or services the entity had actually provided to individuals in the period of 12 months ending at the transition time.

Residential care homes and service delivery branches

(7) For the purposes of subitem (1), each of the following places is taken, as determined by the System Governor, having regard to any rules made for the purposes of subsection 10(5) of the new Act and in accordance with any determination under subitem (9) of this item, to be, or be part of, an approved residential care home in relation to the entity for the purposes of paragraph 105(1)(b) and section 112 of the new Act:

(a) any place through which the entity provided either of the following as at immediately before the transition time:

(i) a residential care service that meets its accreditation requirement at the transition time;

(ii) a flexible care service through which the entity provides flexible care in the form of transition care (within the meaning of the old Principles);

(b) any place which, as at immediately before the transition time, was covered by an agreement between the entity and the Commonwealth for the entity to provide flexible care through a multi-purpose service (within the meaning of the old Principles).

(8) For the purposes of subitem (1), each of the following aged care services through which the entity provided care as at immediately before the transition time is taken to be a service delivery branch of the registered provider for the purposes of the new Act:

(a) a home care service;

(b) a flexible care service through which flexible care is provided as either transition care or short-term restorative care (within the meaning of the old Principles).

(9) For the purposes of subitem (7), the System Governor may, by legislative instrument and having regard to the matters referred to in that subitem, determine how that subitem applies to different kinds of places.

(10) Despite subitem (7), the System Governor must not determine a place to be, or be part of, an approved residential care home under that subitem unless the System Governor is satisfied that the place, or the places combined, are a residential care home within the meaning of the new Act.

(11) For the purposes of subitem (7), the determination of an approved residential care home must include a determination of the total number of beds for the home, having regard to:

(a) the total number of places allocated under section 14-1 of the old Act to the entity which include a condition under paragraph 14-5(3)(b) of that Act that the place is allocated in respect of an aged care service referred to in paragraph (7)(a) of this item in relation to the residential care home; and

(b) any other matter the System Governor considers relevant.

(12) The total number of beds for an approved residential care home determined in accordance with subitem (11) is taken to be the total number of beds in relation to the approved residential care home for the purposes of paragraph 112(1)(b) of the new Act.

Suspended providers

(13) For the purposes of applying the new Act to an entity that is suspended as referred to in paragraph (1)(b) of this item:

(a) the suspension is taken to be a suspension by the Commissioner under section 129 of the new Act; and

(b) the period of suspension for the purposes of subsection 129(2) of the new Act is taken to end at the earlier of the following:

(i) the end of the day (if any) specified under section 63N of the Commission Act as the day the suspension ends;

(ii) the end of the period of 90 days beginning at the transition time.

Determinations by System Governor

(14) For the purposes of subitem (2), (3) or (6), the System Governor may, by legislative instrument and having regard to the matters referred to in that subitem, determine how that subitem applies to different kinds of registered providers.