Specialised status funding for residential aged care

About specialised status

Registered providers may be eligible for specialised status if their residential care home specialises in providing care to:

• homeless people (any location in Australia)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the aged care home is in a remote (MM 6) or very remote (MM 7) location. See Modified Monash Model for more information.

If approved, residential care homes will receive the specialised BCT. See the current rates in the Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements.

Eligibility for specialised status

Specific eligibility criteria apply for each specialised status category.

Specialised homeless status

To be determined to have specialised homeless status, the System Governor (or delegate) must be satisfied that the residential care home:

• has provided, or one of their key personnel has demonstrated experience in providing, or has the capacity to provide, specialist homeless programs
• is either providing specialist homeless programs or has given a written undertaking that the service will begin providing such programs within 3 months after the application is made
• on the day before the application is made, has at least 50% of residents in permanent residential care who demonstrate complex behavioural needs and social disadvantage associated with their background as a homeless person.

Specialised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status

To be determined to have specialised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status, the System Governor (or delegate) must be satisfied that the residential care home:

• has provided, or one of their key personnel has demonstrated experience in providing, or has the capacity to provide, specialist Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander programs
• is providing Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander specialist programs, or has given a written undertaking to begin providing such programs within 3 months after the application is made
• on the day before the application is made, at least 50% of its residents in permanent residential care are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people and is located in an MM 6 or MM 7 location.

Apply for specialised status

To apply for specialised status, approved residential care homes should complete either:

• Specialised Homeless status application form
• Specialised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status application form.

Email the completed application form, together with any additional supporting information, to the Subsidies and Supplements team.

In making their decision, the System Governor (or delegate) may have regard to any information they consider relevant, including information that becomes available after the application is made.

If determined, a specialised status will apply for up to 3 years, provided the aged care home continues to meet all the relevant eligibility requirements.

Revocation of specialised status

Approved residential care homes have a responsibility to monitor their ongoing eligibility for specialised status. 

A registered provider can choose to write to the System Governor (or delegate) to request that the specialised status of the residential care home be revoked.

Find out more

For detailed information, refer to:

• AN-ACC – Specialised status guide for residential aged care registered providers
• AN-ACC Funding Guide
• AN-ACC resources.