Commencing homes
What is a commencing home?
A commencing home is a residential aged care home where the approved provider has been allocated beds by the Department of Health and Ageing (DHA), where residential aged care has not previously been provided in respect of the allocated places, and which is not currently accredited by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd.
A commencing home must be accredited before it is eligible to receive Australian Government subsidies.
How does an approved provider apply for accreditation of a commencing home?
At least three months before residents move into the residential aged care home, approved providers should discuss a due date for their application with their local Agency office.
An application should then be completed. Approved providers can obtain this application by contacting their local Agency office. A fee must accompany the application.
What is the process for accrediting a commencing home?
The main elements of the process for accrediting commencing homes are:
- submission of an application for accreditation by the approved provider – this document requires the approved provider to identify how the residential aged care home will meet the Accreditation Standards when it is operating and to give the Agency an undertaking the residential aged care home will undertake continuous improvement in providing care for residents
- assessment of the application by a quality assessor
- decision about accreditation by a decision-maker
- informing the approved provider and DHA of the decision
- issuing of an accreditation certificate publishing of the decision on our website.
It is the responsibility of the approved provider to demonstrate the residential aged care home complies with the Accreditation Standards. Please be aware that providing false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Codes Act 1995.
What information is publicly available?
The decision to accredit is made available on our website. To access a report on a residential aged care home go to Reports on homes.
