Communique to Aged Care Providers
Quarterly Review September 2015
The next quarterly review for residential and home care will take effect from 20 September 2015.
The quarterly review is a reconciliation process to align the fees that a care recipient pays with the fees
associated with their care needs and changes to their financial circumstances. The quarterly review also
incorporates any indexation into the fees that care recipients are asked to pay. For more details about the
quarterly review, please see the section headed ‘What is the Quarterly Review?’
The quarterly review will run on 26 September 2015. The Department of Human Services will commence
the process of issuing letters to care recipients and aged care providers during the week of 5 October 2015.
Letters are only issued where there is a change to a care recipient’s income/means tested fee and/or the
accommodation contribution payable, including where a refund may be due.
Information on Aged Care Subsidies and Supplements are located on the Department of Social Services
website at www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/ageing-and-aged-care/aged-care-funding/aged-caresubsidies-and-supplements.
The Schedule of Fees and Charges for Residential and Home Care is available on the Department of Social
Services website at www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/ageing-and-aged-care/aged-care-funding/agedcare-fees-and-charges.
What is the Quarterly Review?
Residential and Home Care
The quarterly review is a longstanding reconciliation process which aligns the fees that a care recipient pays
with the fees associated with their care needs and changes to their financial circumstances. The
reconciliation covers the period since the previous quarterly review, including any changes made during the
quarter that relate to a historical event. (e.g. sale of an asset within a previous quarter however the
Department is not notified until a later date.)
The reconciliation process compares the fees that a care recipient has been advised to pay with updates
that have been made during the current quarterly review period.
The assessment:
 determines whether the fees that were applied over the previous period were correct;
 identifies if the care recipient has over paid fees and calculates a refund if required; and
 adjusts the subsidy payment payable to the provider as a result of this change.
The quarterly review process also sets the fee that a care recipient will pay for the next quarter by applying
any changes in income or assets that occurred during the previous quarter, along with any consumer price
indexation (CPI) changes that should apply. The review also adjusts government subsidies paid to
providers.
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Letters are only issued where there is a change to a care recipient’s income/means tested fees and/or the
accommodation contribution payable, including where a refund may be due. Letters are sent to each care
recipient (and/or their nominee) where:
 a refund is due; and/or
 the income/means tested fees and/or the accommodation contribution for the next quarter have:
o
o
increased by 10 cents or more per day; or
decreased by 1 cent or more per day.
If there is only a change to the care recipient’s basic daily fee, letters are not issued.
Care providers are sent an associated letter for care recipients under their care for each review period
where a change has occurred.
DHS pay providers all refunds due to care recipients under their care via their next finalised claim after the
quarterly review. Providers are obliged to pass this refund onto the care recipient.
The effective dates of the four quarterly reviews are 1 January, 20 March, 1 July and 20 September.
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Department of Human Services