Aged Care Provider Requirements Search tool
The Aged Care Provider Requirements Search tool helps providers find and comply with their requirements under the new Aged Care Act and Aged Care Rules.
It supports current and future providers by:
- bringing together all relevant requirements, including conditions of registration, provider obligations, and statutory duties
- linking to the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, to verify information with official legislative sources
- providing educational materials, guidance documents, and online information to further support understanding and compliance.
The search tool is also useful for:
- determining your specific requirements based on the services you deliver
Aged care workers, digital platform operators and responsible persons can also use the tool to find their requirements under the Act.
Older people, their families and carers, peak bodies and the community can use the tool to understand what providers must do when delivering care.
This tool is a guide, it doesn’t replace the new Act and associated Rules. You can read the full regulatory requirements on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Coming soon: short videos with step-by-step instructions on how to use the search tool.
Timing
The new regulatory model will start with the new Act on 1 November 2025.
Changes will include:
- existing providers will automatically become registered providers
- providers will operate under the requirements of their registration based on their registration categories
- the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) will regulate providers based on these categories
- the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards will apply to some providers.
Transition to the new regulatory model
We will work with ACQSC to give you information to prepare for the new model.
If you are an existing provider, we will set you up as a registered provider in the new provider register managed by the ACQSC, as part of the deeming process.
We will send you information on your registration categories soon after the new Act starts.
The transition to the new model depends on the type of services you deliver.
The new model will apply to providers of:
- residential aged care services
- Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
- Home Care Packages Program (to be replaced by the Support at Home program)
- Short-Term Restorative Care Programme (to be replaced by the Support at Home program)
- Transition Care Programme
- Multi-Purpose Services Program
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATISFAC).
Contact us for more information
Specialist Aged Care Programs
When the new Act starts, the following programs will also be referred to as Specialist Aged Care Programs:
- Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
- Multi-Purpose Services Program
- Transition Care Programme
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFAC).
Specialist Aged Care Programs are government-funded programs where there is an agreement or arrangement, such as a grant, in place to deliver aged care services.
These programs provide additional funding and support for individuals who meet the program criteria based on a needs assessment.
To deliver services under Specialist Aged Care Programs, providers will need to:
- be registered under the new regulatory model process
- meet some extra requirements, such as having an agreement with government to provide those services.
CHSP will transition to the Support at Home program no earlier than 1 July 2027. It will be a Specialist Aged Care Program in the interim.
How we will set provider requirements
As a registered provider, you will need to meet requirements set out in the new Act and associated Rules.
Requirements refer to all conditions of registration, provider obligations, and statutory duties under the new Act and Rules.
Each registration category has clearly defined requirements that you will need to meet, depending on the services you deliver, or are funded to deliver.
You will have one set of consolidated requirements depending on the registration categories you are registered into.
This will streamline interactions between providers and ACQSC when services are delivered across multiple program types, such as CHSP and home care.
Registration categories and service types are grouped according to common characteristics and risks associated in delivery of care.
Some registration conditions will apply to all providers. For example:
- understanding and having systems in place to support the rights of older people receiving aged care services
- continuous improvement
- the Statement of Rights
- the Aged Care Code of Conduct
- worker screening
- incident management and complaints.
Watch the video on Statement of Rights and Code of Conduct.
Other conditions will be specific to a registration category and only apply to certain providers. For example:
- setting up an advisory board
- meeting financial reporting requirements
- compliance with the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.
ACQSC may also apply specific conditions on the registration of an individual provider. For example:
- conditions that relate to location or the number of aged care recipients the provider can deliver services to, similar to sanctions under the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018
- a condition that restricts the service types that can be delivered within a registration category
- conditions related to an issue being addressed through regulatory or enforcement pathways – for example, that a provider must appoint an adviser for a period to provide training for its aged care workers.
When the new Act starts, the Quality of Care Principles and Accountability Principles no longer apply. They will be replaced with the provider requirements under the new Act and associated Rules.
Watch the webinar on obligations and rules for more information.
Statement of Principles
The new Act includes a Statement of Principles to guide how the aged care system should work. It guides how the Australian Government, aged care providers and workers must behave and make decisions.
In delivering aged care services, aged care providers should:
- put older people at the centre of their aged care
- treat older people as unique individuals
- recognise the rights of older people under the Statement of Rights.
What existing providers need to do
Keep your organisation’s contact and service delivery information up to date through the Manage Your Organisation tile in GPMS or through your funding arrangement manager.
What new providers need to do
Before the new Aged Care Act starts
If you are a new organisation wanting to deliver government-funded aged care services before the new Act starts, you should apply under the current requirements of the Aged Care Act 1997 to become an approved or accredited aged care provider.
Any application not finalised by 1 November 2025, will be taken as an application to be a registered provider under the new Act.
Applications for accreditation under the existing Aged Care Act will close before the new Act starts.
There are resources available to help providers prepare for the new Act.
Once the new Aged Care Act starts
When the new Act starts, all existing providers will become registered providers.
New providers can then apply to become registered providers under the new Act.
Provider support
We’re aware there are a lot of changes to aged care delivery and regulation occurring now.
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to concentrate on delivering a seamless service to care recipients as we move to the new model.
We will continue to provide you updates as they’re available.
If you have any questions, contact us.
Download provider resources on the Act, or visit the ACQSC website to understand your responsibilities.
Oversight of the new regulatory model
We work closely with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), who are responsible for regulating the aged care sector. As the aged care regulator, ACQSC monitors providers delivering government-funded aged care.
Under the new regulatory model, ACQSC will have strengthened powers, which:
- provide it with greater visibility of who is operating in the sector and the government-funded aged care services they are delivering
- enable it to respond proactively to emerging risks in the sector.
We will continue to have a role in monitoring the implementation of the new model to ensure it achieves its intended outcomes and will adjust where necessary.
This will include monitoring the new model to make sure it:
- protects older people from harm
- establishes a rights-based approach to aged care delivery
- is reasonable and proportionate in its impact on aged care providers.
Contact
Harmonisation and Regulatory Strategy contact