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Operational standards for health facility licensing
Standard requirements
All licensed private hospitals and private day procedure centres in South Australia must meet strict standards to ensure safe, lawful, and high-quality healthcare services. These include:
- Compliance with statutory obligations under the Health Care Act 2008 and Health Care Regulations 2023
- Accreditation to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards, as set by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- Adherence to facility planning and design standards outlined in the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines (AusHFG)
- Compliance with Class 9a building requirements under the National Construction Code (NCC) for new and refurbished buildings
- Sterilisation of Reusable Medical Devices (RMDs) must follow AS 5369:2023, which outlines detailed requirements for cleaning, disinfection, sterilisation, and storage to minimise infection risks
Ongoing obligations for licence holders
Licence holders must:
- Maintain safe and compliant operations at all times
- Adhere to all licence conditions
- Maintain ongoing accreditation to the NSQHS Standards
- Pay the annual licence fee by 30 April each year
- Submit an Annual Return between 30 April and 7 May, containing prescribed information
Annual licence fees – Private hospitals
| Bed range | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1 - 25 beds | $3,122 |
| 26 - 50 beds | $3,972 |
| 51 - 100 beds | $5,676 |
| 101 - 150 beds | $7,378 |
| 151 - 200 beds | $9,082 |
| Over 200 beds | $12,487 |
Annual licence fees – Private day procedure centres
All centres have an annual fee of $1,702.
Data reporting
Licence holders must provide monthly data to Data, Analytics and Insights Branch - SA Health, including:
- Admitted patient care
- Non-admitted emergency care
- Sentinel events
Provision of Health Services Data
It is a legal requirement that all licenced hospitals and private day procedure centres must provide monthly health services data to SA Health. This includes admitted patient care, non-admitted emergency care, and sentinel events.
Data must be submitted to SA Health Department for Health and Wellbeing - Data, Analytics and Insights Branch, which is responsible for collecting and reporting South Australian curated data assets. Contact details for the branch will be provided upon licence issuance.
Learn more about the Data, Analytics and Insights Branch.
Penalties for non-compliance
It is an offence to:
- Make unauthorised changes to premises
- Alter bed numbers or install/use equipment without approval
- Operate without a qualified person in charge
Breaches of the Health Care Act 2008 or licence conditions may result in penalties up to $60,000, the imposition of additional conditions, suspension, or cancellation of the licence.
For further information - Please contact
Clinical Regulation Policy and Licensing team
Clinical Regulation Branch
SA Health - Department for Health and Wellbeing
PO Box 6, Rundle Mall Adelaide SA 5000
Email:
Health.Licensing@sa.gov.au
Phone:
(08) 8226 7100 (Available Monday to Friday, business hours)