Approved Collection Centres

Apply, renew, vary or cancel an Approved Collection Centre (ACC).

Eligibility

To be eligible, Approved Collection Centre (ACCs ) must:

For new approvals, make sure the time between when you sign the application and send it to us is less than 3 months.

For renewal applications, make sure the date you sign the application and send it to us is no more than 3 months before your current approval expires.

Supporting documents - lease agreements or proof of ownership of the premises

You must include either:

  • signed lease agreement
  • signed sub-lease agreement
  • assignment of lease for the premises where the APA is a lessee or sub-lessee or signed agreements, or arrangements to occupy the space
  • proof of ownership of the premises, such as a rates notice, if you own the premises.

If you have a lease extension or a month-to-month lease, you must also supply written confirmation of the arrangement.

If your lease arrangements change during your approval period, you must provide the details including the new lease agreement. You can do this by submitting an Application for approval, renewal, amendment or cancellation of an Approved Collection Centre form (HW035) with a copy of the new lease agreement.

Supporting documents - floor plans

You must include a floor plan of the entire premises, not just the part the ACC occupies.

If your application is for a new ACC or you have a new lease agreement, the floor plan must show the:

  • collection centre name
  • full street address
  • area occupied by the collection centre in square metres
  • location of the collection centre room and shared areas using colours or hash marks
  • size of each common area used by the collection centre and other occupants of the facility
  • total size of the facility.

If you’re renewing and don’t have a new lease, you still need to supply a floor plan with the:

  • ACC address
  • location shown on the floor plan
  • size of the ACC in square metres or room measurements.

Backdated approvals

If you apply late, we can consider backdating your approval on a case-by-case basis, except when:

  • the approval is for a new ACC
  • we don’t have enough information to make a decision.

To request a backdated approval, you need to provide all of the following:

  • a correctly completed application, including the required supporting documents
  • tax payment if it’s required
  • a letter of request telling us why your application is late and the reason the approval should be backdated. This letter must be signed if it’s not submitted by an authorised person using form upload.

We’ll consider the circumstances and let you know the outcome.

Apply, renew or cancel using HPOS

You can apply, renew, vary or cancel your ACC through the Pathology registration function in Health Professional Online Services (HPOS). You need a Provider Digital Access (PRODA) account to access HPOS. If you don’t have one, register for PRODA online. Then follow the steps to set up your HPOS access.

You need to link your PRODA account to your APA to access ACCs in HPOS. You can link by:

Please submit one application for each ACC location.

If you’re calling, you’ll need to:

  • pass a security check
  • give us the APA number and name and the registration authority (RA) number
  • confirm the access type - administrator (full access) or staff (view only access).

Read more about PRODA and HPOS.

Tasks you can do in HPOS

You can:

  • apply for an ACC
  • renew an ACC
  • view and vary ACC details
  • cancel an ACC
  • resume, discard or withdraw an ACC application
  • send us manual applications and supporting documents using form upload
  • create an invoice and request a receipt
  • receive confirmation of PASS transactions through HPOS email, including ACC certificates and approval letters.

Apply by form

Fill in the Application for approval, renewal, amendment or cancellation of an Approved Collection Centre form (HW035), pay any relevant tax and supply proof of payment with your form.

Upload your form and supporting documents through HPOS or mail or fax it to us.

Once approved we’ll send a certificate confirming the approval period which you must display at the ACC.

You can view the Approved Collection Centre Register for a list of ACCs.

Cancel an ACC

You can ask to cancel an ACC in HPOS.

You can also:

ACCs obtained as part of an acquisition or merger

If you acquire or merge with another APA and it affects an ACC, you must tell us at least 30 days before the change. We need as much notice as possible before an acquisition or merger to make sure there’s minimal impact to operations.

For each ACC acquired as part of this change we require applications requesting:

  • closure of the existing ACCs operated by the outgoing APA
  • approval of the ACCs with the acquiring APA.

You can do this through either:

We’ll process these requests once we receive confirmation the acquisition/merger has been successfully completed.

Page last updated: 15 June 2024.
QC 74236