Residential care places from 1 November 2025
Under the Aged Care Act 2024 (the Act), residential aged care places are now assigned directly to older people who have been approved for government funded residential care services. This change aims to give older people more choice and control over which provider delivers their services.
Mainstream residential aged care providers no longer need an allocation of places to deliver government-funded aged care services.
Providers that deliver residential aged care through a specialised program will continue to be allocated places (for example, the Multi-Purpose Services Program or Transition Care Programme).
Why these changes have been introduced
The Act has introduced a new way to manage places. Previously, older people could only choose a residential aged care provider that had enough places from an Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR). This limited the choice for older people and restricted a provider’s ability to grow and innovate.
These changes benefit older people by providing:
- higher quality of care, through more competition in the sector
- more opportunities and choice of providers that best meet their needs.
By no longer having allocated places, new and existing residential aged care providers benefit from:
- greater freedom to adjust and expand their service offerings to meet demand
- a stronger and sustainable residential aged care market, focused on delivering quality care
What providers need to know from 1 November 2025
Provider places
All residential aged care places allocated from the former Aged Care Approvals Rounds, or through the bed-ready process cease to exist from 1 November 2025.
Provider total beds
Aged care providers and residential care homes will be registered through the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (the Commission). Part of this registration will include approved providers registering the total number of beds at each residential care home. Any changes to total beds at a residential care home will be overseen by the Commission. For more information, go to Registration Model | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Reporting of offline beds
The Aged Care Rules 2025 (see sections 167-5-70) require residential aged care providers to notify the commission when beds in a residential care home are offline and not available for use:
- for services in MM 1-5 regions for a period of at least 3 months
- for services in MM 6 and 7 for any period of time.
From 1 November 2025 and until further notice, the department’s Local Network can assist providers to record beds as offline or to make offline beds available for use.
We will update the Government Provider Management System (GPMS), and this information will be shared with the Commission to meet provider reporting requirements under the Aged Care Rules 2025. For further information, refer to the tip sheet, linked below.
Please detail your request in an email to the Local Network office where your residential care home is located:
- NSW/ACT: NSWPlaces@health.gov.au
- Northern Territory: NTPlaces@health.gov.au
- Queensland: Engagement.QLD@health.gov.au
- South Australia: SAPlaces@health.gov.au
- Tasmania: Tas.office@health.gov.au
- Victoria: VICPlaces@health.gov.au
- Western Australia: WAPlaces@health.gov.au
Resources
- Reporting of offline beds tip sheet
- Frequently Asked Questions – for consumers
- Frequently Asked Questions – for providers
- How residential aged care providers can prepare for success in a competitive market
Contact
