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Commonwealth HACC Program

Fact sheet - Underspends

This fact sheet provides Commonwealth HACC service providers with guidance on managing unspent funds.

PDF printable version of Underspends (PDF 107 KB)

Service providers should ensure Commonwealth HACC Program funding is spent or committed within the financial year in which it is paid. This must be reported by the service provider in its Financial Accountability Reports.

Identifying unspent funding

The Department will use the annual Financial Accountability Reports to identify funding that remains unspent at the end of the financial year. Letters will be sent to service providers at the end of the financial reporting cycle to notify the amount of unspent funding and what the service provider needs to do.

The Department may also use the Progressive Financial Accountability Reports to identify unspent funding. If the Department identifies an excessive level of unspent funding following submission of the Progressive Financial Accountability Report, service providers will receive a letter asking them to explain how the unspent funding will be managed.

Service providers that identify expected underspends and are not required to submit Progressive Progressive Financial Accountability (FARs), are encouraged to contact the Department to discuss strategies for managing underspends.

Repayment of unspent funding

Service providers will be required to repay funds that are unspent at the end of a financial year. Repayment of unspent funding allows the Australian Government to redistribute the funding within the Commonwealth HACC Program.

The Department will offset the unspent funding against future installments of funding. Service providers will be notified in writing where the Department has adjusted future installments of funding.

The Department will not fund any overspend encountered by a service provider.

Requesting a carry-over of unspent funding

Following notification of unspent funding, service providers who wish to carry-over unspent funds are required to request permission to do so in the form of a business case, outlining a specific, one-off purpose for the carry-over funding.

Advice about how to apply to carry-over unspent funds will be available on the Aged Care Provider Portal in due course.

Any unspent funding that is permitted to be carried over will be required to be spent before the end of the financial year in which it is approved.

More information

For more information contact the HACC service provider help desk by phone on 1800 057 616, or email HACC Reform.

Last updated: June 2012
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