Building guidelines
Licence approval of new health facilities and alterations or extensions to licensed facilities
Under the Private Health Facilities Act 2007 the Director-General of the NSW Department of Health can imp;ose conditions relating to the design and construction of any building to be built, altered or extended for the purposes of operating a licensed private health facility.
Before any building work is commenced, an applicant for a licence for a new facility, or the licensee of an existing licensed facility, must apply to and receive written approval, from NSW Health for the plans and specifications for the facility.
The licensee of an existing licensee is required to complete an Application for Alterations or Extensions to a Licensed Private Health Facility Form.
Approval process
Submissions and architectural plans will be assessed against the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines (HFG) http://www.healthfacilityguidelines.com.au. Designs for private health facilities that depart from the guidelines will not be approved unless clear patient and/or service benefits can be demonstrated and justified.
The construction and design for new and refurbished private facilities must comply with the requirements of a class 9a building as defined in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) http://www.abcb.gov.au/. Compliance with class 9a building does not apply in respect of any part of a private health facility that is only used to provide chemotherapy or renal dialysis class treatments to patients who are admitted and discharged on the same day. Copies of any relevant approvals from local government authorities or independent certifiers will be required to be submitted to the Private Health Care Unit as evidence of this compliance.
Amendment of licence
In accordance with the Private Health Facilities Act 2007 the Director-General of the NSW Department of Health may on application by the licensee, or if the Director-General otherwise considers it necessary, amend a licence.
The licensee of a licensed facility must apply to, and receive written approval from, NSW Health for any changes to the approved class of facility and number of patients accommodated at any one time in the facility. The licensee is required to complete an Application for Amendment of Licence for a Private Health Facility Form.
Please note: An application to amend a licence and an application to alter or extend a private health facility both attract a fee of $3,390. However, if an application to amend a licence is accompanied by an application to alter or extend a facility only one fee of $3,390 may apply.