24/7 Registered Nurse and Care Minutes Reporting Assurance Activities

We conduct 24/7 Registered Nurse (RN) and Care Minutes Assurance Activities to check accuracy of information reported by residential care homes in the Quarterly Financial Report and 24/7 RN reporting. The outcome of this process may affect Star Ratings, care minute supplement and 24/7 RN supplement.

About 24/7 RN and Care Minutes Reporting Assurance Activities

We conduct assurance activities to check that approved residential care homes have reported accurate 24/7 RN and care minutes information in: 

These assurance activities are legislated under Aged Care Act 2024 (Chapter 6 – Part 12) to help improve your reporting, and the quality of aged care data overall. 

Why accurate reporting is important

Accurate reporting of 24/7 RN coverage and care minutes helps: 

How they work

We select residential care homes through random or risk-based selection. 

If we select your residential care home, we will send a request for information or documents to your point of contact. You can nominate another contact person to work with us on the assessment. 

This request will state:

What you need to do

Access assurance activity requests and actions through the Government Provider Management System (GPMS) Approved Provider Portal. 

Note: These activities are not yet available in the GPMS Registered Provider Portal.

Provide supporting documents 

You must provide us with supporting documents and information, which may include:

  • Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency 
    registration numbers
  • position descriptions
  • staff rosters
  • pay records (with sensitive information redacted, such as tax file numbers, bank details etc.)
  • documents supporting day-to-day procedures
  • documents supporting care and lifestyle activities
  • calculations and working papers used to prepare reporting submissions
  • general ledger extracts
  • records of your processes and controls to ensure accurate reporting.

Providing this information is a legal requirement under the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025.

You should provide accurate information in an easily accessible format (e.g., Excel files). See our model pack for guidance on how to present information.

If you can’t provide the information or documents requested, email us as soon as possible. 

If you don’t respond  

If you fail to respond by the requested date and did not obtain an extension, we will first send you a reminder letter.  

If you still do not respond, we may: 

  • withhold your service’s Star Rating and registered nurse coverage for the relevant quarter
  • refer your service to the ACQSC

Failure to meet these requirements may result in a civil penalty. 

Private information

In responding to this request, please redact any sensitive personal information that is not relevant to assessing the accuracy of reported care minutes or 24/7 RN coverage.  

Sensitive personal information may include, but not be limited to: 

  • tax file numbers
  • health care information related to residents that is not relevant to assessing the accuracy of care minutes reported, such as care plans or financials
  • bank details, home address or other sensitive information regarding staff members not necessary to assess accuracy of reported care minutes or RN coverage
  • other unrequested documents.

How we conduct activities

In conducting 24/7 RN and Care Minutes Assurance Activities, we will: 

  • apply procedural fairness
  • work with you to resolve any issues we might find.  

As well as the supporting documents you provide, we will also review your: 

Resubmission process 

If we find discrepancies in the care minutes and 24/7 RN information you provided, we might ask you to correct the data through a resubmission process. 

If required, an assurance officer will notify you and send a resubmission notice to request updated information. 

You only need to complete the required categories noted in the resubmission notice. 

The resubmission process is for the assessed quarter only. If you wish to make changes to other previously submitted quarters, contact Forms Administration. For more information, refer to the GPMS User Guide - Quarterly Financial Report.

Outcomes 

We will notify you of the outcome of the assurance process. 

The resubmission process may result in a change to your: 

If we find deliberate or negligent misreporting, we will refer your service to the ACQSC for potential compliance action. 

Once we finalise the assurance activity, you can comment against the outcome. 

Tools and resources

Model pack

Our model pack can help guide your submission. It has examples of calculations and workings for information and documents commonly requested.  

Note it is not a template, as the types of information or documents we require differ for each assessment. 

24/7 RN coverage tool

Our RN coverage tool can support you in responding to 24/7 RN and Care Minutes assurance activities. You can use this tool to assist with identifying gaps in your 24/7 RN coverage as part of your 24/7 RN responsibility.

Note this tool is not an approved reporting form, and you are not obliged to use it.

Contacts

Forms Administration contact

If you have questions about the Aged Care Financial Report (ACFR), contact Forms Administration (our ACFR collection contractor).

My Aged Care service provider and assessor helpline

This helpline provides technical support to registered providers of approved residential care homes, assessors and hospital staff using our reporting systems and portals.
Call from 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday or 10 am to 2 pm Saturday (option 4).
Date last updated:

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