Residential aged care subsidy and supplements – permanent care

Learn about the subsidies and supplements available for permanent care residents under the National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) care funding model.

Who gets permanent care subsidies and supplements

Approved residential aged care providers with permanent residents will receive subsidies and supplements to meet the costs of delivering care. Payments are made using the AN-ACC funding model.

See residential respite subsidy and supplements for respite residents.

AN-ACC daily basic subsidy

The AN-ACC daily basic subsidy consists of 2 components:

  1. Base Care Tariff (fixed funding)
  2. AN-ACC classification (variable funding).

An initial entry adjustment payment is also payable each time a permanent resident enters residential aged care.

Eligible providers may also receive other supplements for residential aged care. 

Subsidy and payment rates

See the schedule of subsidies and supplements for subsidy and payment rates for permanent aged care.

Base Care Tariff subsidy

The Base Care Tariff (BCT) is the fixed funding component of AN-ACC.

It covers care costs that do not change significantly with changes in individual aged care residents’ needs, or with small changes in occupancy.

There are 6 BCT categories reflecting the characteristics of a residential aged care service based on:

  • location (2019 Modified Monash Model (MMM category)
  • specialisation (homeless or remote and very remote Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons).

Aged care services automatically receive a BCT based on their MMM location unless a specialised BCT is approved.

AN-ACC classification subsidy

There are 13 AN-ACC funding classes for permanent residents, including a special class for planned admissions for palliative care.   

The AN-ACC class determines the amount of variable subsidy the approved provider will be paid for meeting the permanent resident’s care needs.

Each AN-ACC class represents residents with similar clinical characteristics and daily care costs.

For new permanent residents to receive an AN-ACC class, they must have an AN-ACC assessment with an independent assessor. An assessment will be triggered when the provider creates the entry record in the Services Australia Aged Care Provider Portal.

Initial entry adjustment payment

Providers are paid an initial entry adjustment payment each time new resident enters a residential aged care service.

This is to cover one-off costs related to transitioning a resident into a new care environment, or between services.

Default payments

During the period between entry and assessment providers will receive:

  • applicable BCT subsidies for the residential aged care service
  • default rates for the AN-ACC variable subsidy
  • one-off entry payments (for permanent residents only).

For permanent (non-palliative) residents, the default rate is equal to the AN-ACC Class 8 subsidy.

Once the resident is assigned an AN-ACC class, the subsidy for the actual classification will replace any default subsidy paid up to that time. Any difference between the actual and default subsidy will be adjusted through the Services Australia payment system.

More information

See the AN-ACC Funding Guide for more information about AN-ACC subsidies for permanent residents.

Date last updated:

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