Moving residents between residential aged care rooms
A resident can choose to move rooms. There are also times when you can ask them to. You will need to discuss this with the resident and update their agreement, and fees if required.
When can residents move rooms?
A resident can move rooms within the aged care home if:
- the resident requests it
- the resident is consulted and agrees to moving rooms
- an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) or at least 2 eligible health practitioners decide it’s necessary for medical reasons
- the resident was receiving care under a specialist dementia care agreement, which a clinical advisory committee has determined they no longer need
- the place the resident occupies becomes an extra service place and they don’t want to pay the fee
- you need to repair or improve the room and the resident has the right to return to it
The criteria for moving residents and who is an eligible health practitioner is in Division 2 of the User Rights Principles 2014. This information must be set out in the resident’s accommodation agreement.
Charging for the new room
You cannot ask the resident to pay a higher accommodation cost if:
- the move is not voluntary
- they are on pre-1 July 2014 fee arrangements
Otherwise, you can ask the resident to pay a new negotiated room price up to the maximum published room price on the day they move.
Changing the accommodation agreement
You must vary the resident’s accommodation agreement with the new room service and fee arrangements.
If the resident pays more for the new room, they can choose to pay the extra amount as:
- a lump sum, refundable accommodation contribution (RAC)
- rental-style payments called a daily accommodation contribution (DAC)
- a combination of both
If the resident has paid a RAC and the room cost is lower, you must refund any excess balance to the resident.
Read more about managing accommodation contributions and payments.