AR-DRG Version 12.0
Date published: 16 June 2025
The Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups (AR-DRG) classification provides a clinically meaningful way to group together treatments and services provided for admitted acute episodes of care to enable hospitals to be funded for these services using activity based funding.
The AR-DRG classification is underpinned by the following diagnosis and intervention classifications and standards:
- International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM)
- Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI)
- Australian Coding Standards (ACS); collectively known as ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ACS.
AR-DRG Version 12.0 was approved by the Pricing Authority in April 2025 and has been developed in accordance with the Governance Framework for the Development of the Admitted Care Classifications. This included consultation with clinicians and other health sector stakeholders represented on IHACPA’s technical and advisory committees.
Key updates for AR-DRG V12.0 include:
- Review of MDC 14 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium with refinements to improve the clinical meaningfulness and resource homogeneity within this MDC.
- Creation of ADRG A16 Posthumous organ procurement.
- Development of guiding principles to inform the grouping of episodes of care to the intervention partition of the AR-DRG classification.
The Australian Refined Diagnosis Related Groups Version 12.0 (AR-DRG V12.0) will be released in July 2025 and proposed to be used to price admitted acute care episodes from 1 July 2026, subject to approval by the Pricing Authority.
IHACPA will release education to support the implementation of AR-DRG V12.0.
Last updated: 16 June 2025