Extra Service Status

General Information on Extra Service status

Extra Service offers increased choice and diversity in the aged care sector by giving residents the option of making additional payments to receive additional services.

Extra Service In Residential Aged Care

The Aged Care Act 1997 allows the Department of Health and Ageing to approve 'Extra Service' status for a residential aged care home, or a distinct part of a home.

Extra Service involves the provision of additional 'hotel' type services or lifestyle extras, including higher standards of accommodation and increased entertainment and food choices. However, aged care homes are only approved to offer Extra Service if their level of provision of these extras is significantly higher than average.

Extra Service offers increased choice and diversity in the aged care sector by giving residents the option of making additional payments to receive additional services. Residents are required to pay an additional fee for these services and may be requested to pay an accommodation bond for either high care or low care accommodation.

Extra service status enables the residents to enjoy a superior level of comfort and choice, through:

• a physical environment that offers high quality personal accommodation and furnishings, and enhanced choices of recreational and communal spaces;
• food and meal services that offer a wide range of choice and enhanced enjoyment of the dining experience;
• variety and choice in lifestyle, recreational and personal services that are responsive to the changing interests and needs of residents;
• a culture of service.

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Standards of care that must be provided to all residents of aged care homes funded by the Australian Government under the Aged Care Act 1997

All providers of residential aged care homes funded under the Aged Care Act 1997 are required to meet designated standards of care for all residents, as specified at Schedule One to the Quality of Care Principles and further explained in Chapter 5 of the Residential Care Manual. Therefore Extra Service status does not include the provision of higher standards of care.

All residential aged care homes funded under the Aged Care Act 1997 must be accredited. Extra Service is not a form of accreditation.

More information on residential aged care

• General information on aged care homes
• Quality Residential Aged Care
• Care Standards and Accreditation
• Information sheet - What you need to know about residential aged care

Benchmarks for Extra Service

Benchmarks refer to the minimum requirements for 'significantly higher' standards of accommodation, food and services required for a residential aged care home to be approved for Extra Service status by the Department of Health and Ageing. The benchmarks were developed by the Extra Service Reference Group, whose members comprised provider, peak body and consumer representatives. The benchmarks came into effect from 1 November 2003.

To find a residential aged care home offering Extra Service and the benchmarks provided, refer to the list of homes where Extra Service is in operation on this website.
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Extra Service Status and Accommodation Bonds

High and low care residents who choose to occupy an Extra Service place may be required to pay an accommodation bond under certain circumstances:

High care residents

• A high care resident in a non-Extra Service bed who moves to an Extra Service bed in the same facility cannot be charged an accommodation bond*.
• A high care resident in a non-Extra Service bed who transfers to an Extra Service bed in a different aged care facility can be charged an accommodation bond at the new facility.
• A high care resident who moves into an aged care facility for the first time and elects to receive Extra Service can be charged an accommodation bond.

Low care residents

• An accommodation bond cannot be increased when a low care resident who has already paid a bond for a non-Extra Service bed moves to an Extra Service bed in the same facility*.
• An accommodation bond cannot be increased when a low care resident who has already paid a bond for a non-Extra Service bed in one facility transfers to an Extra Service bed in a different facility*.
• A low care resident who moves into an aged care facility for the first time and elects to receive Extra Service can be charged the current accommodation bond for that facility.

Please note:

• Points above marked with an asterisk * assume that a time period of less than 28 days has elapsed from the date of a resident’s transfer either between or within facilities.
• Residents cannot be discharged and readmitted so that a service can charge a bond (paragraph 4.43 of the Allocation Principles).
• An accommodation charge and accommodation bond cannot both be charged. A resident will be charged either one or the other.
  Sections 57A-2 and 57-2 of the Aged Care Act 1997 provide more detail about accommodation bonds and accommodation charges.

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Who sets the Extra Service fees?

The approved provider of the home essentially sets the fees that residents are asked to pay for Extra Service (called the Extra Service 'amount'), but these fees must be approved by the Department of Health and Ageing.

The provider nominates one or more fee levels, which are maximum fee levels, and these are approved by the Department at the time Extra Service status is sought. A provider may charge a resident less than the maximum fee.

A provider cannot charge different fees for the same room type and services package but may charge different fees for different room types, e.g. single rooms and double rooms.

If eligible, approved providers may receive a residential care subsidy from the Government for each resident. However, if the resident is occupying an extra service place then the residential care subsidy is reduced by 25 per cent of the approved extra service fee for that place.

A provider may apply to the Department for an increase in Extra Service fees. Changes to the level of fees payable will only be approved if at least 12 months have elapsed since the last fee approval and the fee increase is no more than 20% plus an indexation of the current fee in accordance with the All Groups Consumer Price Index.

Where the Delegate approves a fee increase, Approved Providers are required to provide residents with ‘reasonable notice’. The Department considers that 28 days would constitute reasonable notice. However, there may be some circumstances where a longer period of notice may be reasonable, for example in cases where financial decisions on behalf of a resident must be made by another person, such as a guardian or a person holding a power of attorney.

Application for Approval of Extra Service Fees (PDF 61 KB)
Application for Approval of Extra Service Fees (Word 654 KB)

If you are unable to download the PDF or Word file please send an email to: acc@health.gov.au for a copy to be sent to you.

For information about fees and charges in residential aged care, see the Department's Information Sheet Fees and Charges - An Overview
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Extra Service Agreements

Before residential care can be provided on an Extra Service basis, the approved provider and the resident (or their representative) must have entered into an Extra Service Agreement.

The Extra Service agreement must specify:

1. the level of the Extra Service amount (i.e. the fee that the resident will pay) in respect of the particular type of place; and
2. how the Extra Service amount may be varied; and
3. the standard of accommodation, services and food to be provided to the resident.

It is an approved provider’s responsibility to comply with all conditions set out in the Extra Service Agreement.

The Aged Care Act 1997 provides that an Extra Service agreement must not be entered into in circumstances under which the resident (care recipient) is subject to duress, misrepresentation, or threat of disadvantage or detriment.

If a resident or their representative has concerns that items listed in the Extra Service Agreement are not being provided, they should discuss these issues with the home in the first instance. Each residential aged care service is required to establish its own comprehensive complaints handling scheme. If the resident and the home cannot resolve their differences, residents or their representatives may choose to lodge a complaint with the Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme during business hours on Free-call 1800 550 552 or in writing to:

Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme
C/- Department of Health and Ageing
GPO Box 9848
In your Capital city.

Activation of Extra Service Status

Activation of Extra Service status is when the first resident is admitted on an Extra Service basis. For information about providers’ responsibilities relating to the activation of Extra Service, see the Department’s webpage Activation of Extra Service Status - Providers' Responsibilities.
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