National Aged Care Provider Conference 2024

Aged care in Australia is on the cusp of entering a new era with the anticipated introduction of a new Aged Care Act, new regulatory framework and strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, ensuring a person centred approach to the delivery of care.

To understand the upcoming reforms and what they will mean in practice, we hosted a special national conference, ‘Getting in on the Act! – Working together for better aged care’, on Tuesday 23–Wednesday 24 April 2024 at the Adelaide Convention Centre. It was preceded by a program of 9 workshops on 22 April with providers on a range of topics.

This free conference brought together residential and home services providers to explore and share how the sector can best be prepared, and to look at how the sector is continuously improving to deliver safe, quality aged care.

The conference was attended by 977 in person and 1,071 virtual attendees.

You can view the program here.

The conference placemat provides a high-level snapshot of the themes that emerged over the course of the conference.

Report on pre-conference workshops

In the lead up to the conference, we hosted a day of pre-conference workshops focused on best-practice approaches to delivering aged care.

The 9 workshops were an opportunity for providers to come together for an informal conversation with Commission executives and peers on a range of topics.

We have produced a pre-conference workshops report summarising the discussion that took place and outlining the key themes and learnings that emerged. The report gives an overview of the observations made by panellists and participants in each of the workshops, including recommendations for how we can better support the sector.

Conference sessions recordings and presentations

The conference was a mix of plenary and parallel sessions. The on demand session recordings and individual slide presentations are available below:

Day 1 – Tuesday 23 April

Opening Plenary

Parallel session 1: Provider registration unpacked – registration and registration renewal

Residential services stream
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Aged Care Complaints Commissioner Louise Macleod
Home services stream
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Executive Director, Quality Assurance and Monitoring Anthony Speed

Parallel session 2: Strengthened Standards – what to expect and how to be ready

Residential services stream
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Deputy Commissioner, Sector Capability and Regulatory Strategy Lisa Peterson PSM
Home services stream
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Executive Director, Regulatory Policy and Strategy, Emma Jobson

Provider plenary and Q&A – How providers are preparing for the reforms

Full session recording

Day 2 – Wednesday 24 April

Opening plenary:

Full session recording
- Addresses by Chair, Aged Care Quality and Safety Council, Maree McCabe and Deputy Secretary, Ageing and Aged Care, Department of Health, Michael Lye
- Panel discussion on Consumer perspectives on the new Aged Care Act and strengthened Standards with Commissioner Janet Anderson PSM, CEO of the Older Persons Advocacy Network, Craig Gear and Chief Executive of COTA, Pat Sparrow

Parallel session 3: Governing bodies working with older people in the design of their care

Residential services stream
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Aged Care Complaints Commissioner Louise Macleod
Home services stream
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Executive Director, Approvals and Serious Incident Notifications Ann Wunsch
CHSP stream– Workplace culture and great care
- Full session recording
- Presentation by Commissioner Janet Anderson PSM