Annual Confirmation Statement (ACS) in Practice Incentives Program (PIP) 012-10010080

At the start of May each year, practices are sent an Annual Confirmation Statement (ACS). Practices with an approval date from 1 November the previous year will not receive a confirmation statement.

The ACS will show all information on the practice profile.

A practice must review the information on each page of the ACS and confirm their practice details. This includes their eligibility for the:

• PIP, and
• individual incentives

The below individual incentives do not show on the ACS and therefore practices do not need to confirm their eligibility for the:

• Rural Loading payment
• Teaching Incentive

The practice must check the current practitioners listed at the practice before confirming their ACS. Practices claiming procedural GP payments should also check the payment tiers listed for their procedural GPs.

Requests for Standardise Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) recalculations or back payment of procedural GP payments will not be considered if the practice has confirmed their ACS with the incorrect practitioner details.

Receiving and confirming the ACS

Practices can receive their ACS via:

• Health Professional Online Services (HPOS):
• if the practice's online subscriptions is set to ‘access online'
• Mail:
• if the practice's online subscriptions is set to ‘receive printed copy via mail'

On receipt of the ACS, the practice must:

• check that all the details on the ACS are correct
• submit the ACS via HPOS or sign the declaration page and return by HPOS form upload, HPOS messaging, fax or post. Returning the ACS via unsecured email is not recommended

The ACS can be confirmed online regardless of how it was delivered.

Practices using HPOS can make changes to the practice details and confirm the ACS up to and on 31 July each year. Most practice changes made through HPOS are effective immediately.

Practices returning their ACS for manual processing must submit the ACS on or before 24 July of that year. Only the declaration page needs to be submitted. If there are changes to practice details, the practice must also submit the relevant pages or form.

ACS not confirmed by 31 July

The practice payments will be automatically put on hold if a practice does not confirm their ACS by the 31 July. The practice can still submit their ACS after this date. When the ACS has been submitted and confirmed, the practice payments will be released in a fortnightly payment run. See Payments for PIP and WIP - Practice Stream.

System generated reminder letters are sent to practices with an unconfirmed confirmation statement in early August and November each year.

In December and January, Program Management (Payments team) send reminder emails to practices with an unconfirmed confirmation statement. The emails will include the following information:

• the practices YYYY confirmation statement is unconfirmed
• practice payments are on hold
• practices with payments held for 3 quarters may be withdrawn from the program and held payments forfeited
• the practice must confirm their ACS by 31 January YYYY to remain in the program
• options for confirming the outstanding ACS

Practices that do not confirm their ACS before the February quarterly payment are subject to the 3 quarter rule and may be withdrawn from the program. Payments team call practices at risk of withdrawal in the lead up to the calculation of the February payment each year.

The email and phone communication by Payments team may generate calls to the PIP enquiry line. Service delivery staff should assist callers to confirm their ACS.

A practice can amend some practice details on the ACS.

The Resources page has a list of acceptable changes that can be notified using the ACS. If the changes to the practice details are not included in the list of acceptable changes, the practice must submit the necessary forms and/or supporting documents.