The department advises residential care providers that where a residential aged care facility is operating as an approved provider and taking people into aged care respite, the provider can apply for emergency approval under Section 22-5(2) of the Aged Care Act 1997. As per current requirements, the provider will need to submit an Application for Care form to their local ACAT within five business days after the day on which the care started.
The department appreciates that service providers may currently face delays in submitting these applications due to experiencing bush fire related constraints. The department reassures providers that where they are unable to submit the Application for Care form to their local ACAT within five business days, the provider can, as soon as practicable, apply for an extension (as required under Section 22-5(3) of the Act) with the reason for the delay (ie “bush fire related emergency”) advised to the ACAT at the time of requesting the extension.
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