Approved Collection Centres

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

Eligibility

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

New approvals

Make sure the time between when you sign the application and send it to us is less than 3 months.

New approvals start from the date the delegate grants the approval or, if requested, a specific date in the future.

Renewals

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

You need to give us certain documents when making your application.

Leases, agreements or proof of ownership of the premises

Where the APA is a lessee or sub-lessee, we require a current lease or sub-lease agreement.

Where the APA has a non-financial arrangement to occupy the space, we require a signed agreement with the owner of the premises.

If the APA owns the premises, we require proof of ownership, such as a rates notice or Certificate of Title that is less than 12 months old.

Lease or agreement requirements

The lease or agreement must:

  • be current or have a valid extension clause, including on a month-to-month basis, for the date you are applying for the ACC approval to start
  • include at a minimum the standard terms and conditions that would be expected to be included in a lease
  • be signed by both parties, for example, the lessor and the lessee
  • include the APA name as the lessee or party to the agreement
  • identify the address of the ACC
  • identify the total area of the leased space or refer to the floor plan that includes this.

If no rent is being paid for the premises, we require a letter from the owner explaining the arrangement that is signed by both parties.

If the address is not included in the lease or agreement, we require evidence that links the agreement to the proposed ACC premises’ address, such as a council notice or survey report.

Lease or agreement extensions and changes

If the lease or agreement includes a provision for an extension or a month-to-month option, the APA must confirm in writing if they are exercising that option. A new lease or agreement is required when all agreed options for extension have expired.

If the ACC is acquired as part of a merger or acquisition, the APA must provide confirmation in writing that the lease or agreement has been assigned to the APA’s new name. This is often referred to as an assignment of lease.

If the APA name changes during the lease term, we require a Certificate of Registration from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as evidence of this change.

If the lease arrangements change during the approval period, the APA must provide the details, including the new lease or agreement, within 14 days. You must do this by submitting an Application for approval, amendment, renewal or cancellation of an approved collection centre form with a copy of the new lease or agreement.

A new ACC approval is required if the collection centre moves to a different location.

Floor plans

You must include a floor plan with your ACC application.

Premises that are used exclusively as a collection centre

The floor plan must include the:

  • trading name of the collection centre
  • full street address, including room details if applicable
  • size of the premises in square metres.

Premises that are part of a larger facility

The floor plan must include the:

  • trading name of the collection centre
  • location of the collection centre room and any shared areas with other occupants of the facility, using colour or hash marks
  • size of the collection centre room or area in square metres
  • size of the total facility in square metres
  • total shared area used by the collection centre and other occupants of the facility that you pay rent for, if applicable
  • total shared area used by the collection centre and other occupants of the facility that you do not pay rent for, if applicable.

The exclusive and paid shared area measurements in your application must equal the total area provided in the lease.

If the floor plan does not meet requirements, your application will be refused.

Backdated approvals

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

  • the application 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 required
  • a letter of request telling us why your application is late and the reason the approval should be backdated.

The letter of request must be signed unless it’s submitted by an authorised person using Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) 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 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 to link a PRODA account to an ACC, you’ll need to:

  • pass a security check
  • give us the APA or ACC number and name
  • be listed as an authorised contact for the APA or ACC
  • give us the registration authority (RA) number for the person’s PRODA account
  • 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 Notices of Approval and approval letters.

Apply by form

Fill in the Application for approval, amendment, renewal or cancellation of an approved collection centre form, pay any relevant tax and supply proof of payment with your form.

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

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

Approved Collection Centre Register

You can view the Approved Collection Centre Register to search for an ACC or download a full 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 or merger has been successfully completed.

Page last updated: 15 August 2025.
QC 74236