Approved Pathology Authority (APA) acquisitions and mergers 012-26082621

An APA may:

• acquire ACCs or APLs from another APA
• merge with another APA

An acquisition or merger may be:

• partial, where some ACCs and/or APLs are transferred to another APA
• total, where all ACCs and APLs are transferred to another APA

There are 3 ways an APA can acquire or merge with another APA:

• two APAs merge and apply for a new APA (total)
• two APAs merge and retain one of the APAs (total)
• one APA acquires part of another APA and both retain their APAs (partial)

Where ACCs are being acquired or disposed of as part of the arrangement, the acquiring APA must apply for new ACC approvals for those locations. These applications are treated as new approvals. The disposing APA must close each corresponding existing ACC. There are specific requirements for the supporting documentation needed to process these applications.

Both APAs must complete an Approved Pathology Authority acquisition or merger advice form (HW036). This form is available on the Services Australia website. See the Resources page for a link to the form.

All pages of the form must be submitted.

ACC ownership changes

Where ACCs are changing ownership, the following requests are also required:

• cancellation of the ACC approvals currently held by the disposing APA
• applications for approval of new ACCs from the acquiring APA

These requests can be made using:

• HPOS Pathology Approved Collection Centre Self-Service (PASS) (preferred option)
• The Application for approval, amendment, renewal or cancellation of an approved collection centre form (HW035)

For more details about ACC application requirements, see Assessing Approved Collection Centre (ACC) applications and renewals.

New leases or assignment of leases must also be provided within 30 days after the new lease arrangement has been made.

All ACC applications, including for cancellation of existing ACCs (disposing APA) and new ACCs (acquiring APA), should be received at least one week before the merger or acquisition date.

APL ownership changes

Where APLs are changing ownership, the APL number must be supplied on the Approved Pathology Authority acquisition or merger advice form (HW036). APAs are not required to submit applications to close existing APLs or for new APL approvals.

The acquiring APA must submit an Application for approval, amendment or renewal of premises as an accredited pathology laboratory form (HW010) if the postal address or contact details are different to those recorded against its APA approval in the Provider Directory System (PDS).

Total acquisitions or mergers

For a total acquisition or merger, the disposing APA must:

• terminate their APA undertaking by giving notice of the termination
• specify a date of termination not earlier than 30 days after the day on which the notice is given

This applies to both APAs if they are merging to become a new APA.

Timeframes

APAs must advise Services Australia at least 30 days before an acquisition or merger. This is to ensure availability of appropriate agency resources to process the required changes to the impacted records.

Processing new ACCs and manual ACC cancellation requests can occur before the acquisition or merger date but must only be approved by a delegate after receiving confirmation that the acquisition or merger will proceed as planned.

See the Resources page for more details on acquisition or merger timelines.