About the 24/7 RN supplement
The 24/7 RN supplement helps approved providers employ extra RNs to be on-site and on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at residential aged care facilities.
Facilities with, on average, more than 60 residents per day in a calendar month receive sufficient funding through the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) Basic Subsidy to deliver 24/7 RN care to their residents and will not receive this supplement.
For facilities with, on average, 60 residents or less per day, the supplement provides additional support to meet the responsibility.
Who the 24/7 RN supplement applies to
The 24/7 RN supplement is a non-means tested supplement and applies to residential facilities with, on average, 60 residents or fewer per day (based on occupied bed days). The supplement does not apply to flexible care services, including Multi-Purpose Services (MPS).
Where multiple residential care services are at one facility (co-located services), we will combine the number of occupied places at each service that make up the facility will be combined for the purposes of assessing the occupancy criteria (that is, up to 60 occupied beds on average over the month). If eligible, each service at the facility will receive a proportion of the 24/7 RN supplement based on the number of residents they had in care during the claim month.
If the co-located services have a combined total of more than 60 residents per day on average over the month, the facility will not be eligible for the supplement, even if the individual services have less than 60 residents.
24/7 RN supplement rate
The 24/7 RN supplement rate is based on the occupied bed days during a calendar month in the facility. Facilities with, on average, fewer occupied bed days receive more funding. The rate is also based on the location of the facility under the Modified Monash Model (MMM):
There are 2 supplement rates:
- services located in metropolitan locations (MMM 1–4)
- services located in rural, remote and very remote locations (MMM 5–7) to account for the additional costs that come with working in these areas.
Rates are published in the Schedule of Subsides and Supplements for Aged Care.
How to receive the supplement
You do not need to apply for the 24/7 RN supplement.
The supplement is automatically paid to facilities that:
- have no more than 60 residents per day (based on occupied bed days) on average over a calendar month
- provide a minimum of 20 hours of RN coverage a day, on average over a calendar month
- correctly report RN coverage at the facility by the 7th calendar day of the following month.
Payment
The supplement is paid monthly in line with other residential aged care subsidies and supplements.
Services Australia automatically pays this supplement to eligible facilities that meet all criteria for the supplement.
Temporary lower threshold for the supplement
The minimum average of 20 hours of RN care a day over a calendar month is a temporary lower threshold for the supplement to help facilities transition to the new responsibility. The threshold allows for unplanned absences and give providers time to recruit RNs to provide full 24/7 RN coverage.
The temporary threshold will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Payment of the supplement to help eligible facilities meet the cost of providing 24/7 RN care is not the same as compliance with the 24/7 RN responsibility. Providers must work towards providing full 24/7 RN coverage as intended by the new responsibility.
Exemption arrangements
Facilities that have an exemption from the 24/7 RN responsibility will not receive the 24/7 RN supplement.
For information on exemption arrangements, including eligibility and how to apply, see Exemption from the 24/7 registered nurse responsibility for aged care.
For more information, see Care minutes and 24/7 registered nurses in residential aged care and the Care minutes and 24/7 registered nurse responsibility guide.