Applications to the Aged Care Pricing Commissioner (ACPC) to charge over the maximum $550,000 Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) increased by 85% in the past year thanks to a jump in renewals.
In total, the ACPC received 539 applications in 2017/18 – including 220 renewal applications – and approved 386.
Many facilities had prices approved when the ACPC was introduced on 1 July 2014 that were only valid for four years so they would have lapsed on 1 July 2018.
Overall, 170 or 18.85% of aged care providers have applied to the ACPC in the past five years with providers given approval to charger higher accommodation payments for 13.8% of all aged care place – approximately 26,000 beds.
Of these, 32.97% were in new or recently refurbished facilities – in 2017/18, this figure was 40.69%.
The perception that providers are charging million-dollar RADS is still a long way off however. 37.09% of the rooms approved in the five-year period are priced from $550,001 to $750,000, while 36.42% fall into the $700,000 to under $850,000.
Only 1.82% of facilities charge a RAD of $1.5 million or more.
Few operators also took advantage of the opportunity to increase their Extra Service Fees. In 2017/18, the ACPC received 45 applications from 32 facilities to raise the fees, with 198 increases approved since July 2014.
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