Aged Care Act 2024

The Commissioner may, by legislative instrument, make standards in relation to financial and prudential matters.

These standards are the Financial and Prudential Standards: see section 7.

It is a condition of registration that a registered provider must comply with the provisions of the Financial and Prudential Standards that apply to the provider: see section 150. If a registered provider breaches a condition of registration, the provider may be liable to a civil penalty: see subsection 142(3).

The standards may only deal with the following:

requirements in relation to the liquidity and capital adequacy of registered providers;

requirements in relation to the keeping of financial records relating to the delivery of funded aged care services, including records about refundable deposits, accommodation bonds, accommodation charges, entry contributions, fees, payments and contributions;

requirements in relation to governance systems and strategies that registered providers must have in place to ensure that they remain:

financially viable and sustainable; and

able to comply with the other applicable requirements in the standards;

requirements in relation to the disclosure and reporting, by registered providers, of information that may assist the Commissioner to:

monitor the financial viability and sustainability of registered providers; and

monitor the compliance of registered providers with the other applicable requirements in the standards; and

quantify prudential and financial risk relating to registered providers;

requirements in relation to the management of investments by registered providers to ensure that they remain financially viable and sustainable;

requirements in relation to any other prudential matter prescribed by the rules.

Without limiting subsection (1), the standards may provide that a provision of the standards applies to the following:

all registered providers;

registered providers in specified provider registration categories;

specified kinds of registered providers.

Without limiting paragraph (2)(f), rules prescribing a prudential matter for the purposes of that paragraph may also prescribe that any standards made under subsection (1) dealing with that prudential matter only apply to registered providers in a specified provider registration category.

Subsections (3) and (4) of this section do not limit subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.