Aged Care Quality Bulletin #73 - January 2025 | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

Commissioner’s message

I am delighted to take up the role of Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, and to work with staff in the Commission to protect and enhance the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of older people receiving aged care.

I have worked in social policy and delivery roles for nearly 30 years across many Commonwealth agencies, and am honoured to be taking up this critical role.

I want to acknowledge the significant contribution of the inaugural Commissioner, Janet Anderson PSM. Janet’s leadership throughout her tenure, which was a period of major change, is widely respected and her legacy is impressive.

While I am just in my second week at the Commission, in the coming weeks and months I look forward to meeting with people from across the sector. The success of the transformation in aged care requires significant collaboration, cooperation and commitment.

2025 will be a momentous year for aged care in Australia, with the welcome introduction of the new rights-based Aged Care Act putting older people firmly at the centre of their aged care experience.

The Commission is focused on readying ourselves and supporting the sector to be ready for 1 July 2025. And I understand the importance of transparency in providing clear guidance to providers as soon as we are able.

To that end, we have released a Sector Readiness Plan which outlines when you can expect to have access to key resources as part of the readiness pathway we are all on. We will continue to add to this plan which I hope will be a useful guide in preparing for the new Act. You can read more about the plan in this issue.

I am also pleased to share that registration for our upcoming National Aged Care Providers Conference, ‘Navigating the change – Rights and regulation’, will open on Monday 3 February.

The conference, being held on Tuesday 28 – Wednesday 29 July at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, will offer a dynamic and engaging program for discussion, shared experiences and learnings. I look forward to seeing you there!

Our reports

Sector performance – latest insights

Our latest Sector Performance Report is now available. The report includes data from 1 July to 30 September 2024 (Quarter 1, 2024–25).

This report draws from data monitoring, audits and complaints to provide insights on the sector’s performance against the Aged Care Quality Standards.

Collecting and publishing this information is part of our commitment to transparency and making sure that older people receive safe and quality aged care.

Importantly, this report can support providers to keep improving. It’s most useful when providers compare the data with their own and act on it.

We use the data to target our regulatory focus and activities on areas of greatest risk.

Key information in this quarter’s report includes:

Compliance with the Aged Care Quality Standards

Rates of compliance with all Quality Standards increased to 73% for home services providers. However, this is still much lower than the 82% compliance rate of residential services. We continue to closely monitor home services providers to make sure they keep improving.

Complaints

The number of complaints about residential care rose slightly, while those about home services fell for the first time since Quarter 2, 2023–24.

Serious Incidents Response Scheme (SIRS)

Unreasonable use of force continues to be the most commonly reported incident under the SIRS. Notifications of neglect in residential care have risen by 26% since Quarter 1, 2023–24 which is concerning. The overall number of serious incident notifications from home services providers is much lower than from residential services, and we’re working to improve our understanding of this pattern.

In focus: Financial and prudential compliance

This quarter, our focus was on financial and prudential compliance and its importance in delivering high-quality aged care. We reviewed the sector’s management of refundable deposits and submitting of Annual Prudential Compliance Statements on time (finding a trend in late submissions). We also reviewed our findings from home care pricing audits.

We strongly encourage providers to review this report as part of their commitment to keep improving.

Download the Sector Performance Report (Quarter 1, 2024–25).

Reports from previous quarters are available on the Sector Performance page.

Aged care reform update

Sector readiness plan

We have released a high-level Sector Readiness Plan to assist the aged care sector in preparing for the new Aged Care Act from a regulatory perspective.

The plan provides a summary of the key resources that will be made available over the coming months. These will include guidance materials, webinars, fact sheets, videos, training programs and more on topics including:

strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards
provider registration
the Financial and Prudential Standards
worker regulation
compliance and enforcement
complaints handling.

The plan will be regularly updated with additional resources as they are confirmed, and the timelines for release may change subject to progress of the Act’s subordinate legislation.

The resources being produced by the Commission aim to:

provide information to older people, workers, providers, other stakeholders in the sector and the wider community as soon as it is practicably available
make information and products easy to find and navigate, noting the volume and complexity of information that will be available to the sector from the Commission and others
ensure as wide a reach of information and products as possible, by providing key information in a range of formats and spotlighting it at different times
support diverse audiences by producing tailored resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse providers, workers and older people.

View the Sector Readiness Plan.

Targeted review on provider governance

We do targeted reviews as part of our strategy to raise awareness of providers’ financial and prudential responsibilities.

From January to April 2025, we will carry out a targeted review on provider governance responsibilities.

Selected providers will need to submit documents that show how they meet their governance obligations.

We will select providers that:

didn’t meet their prudential or governance obligations in the past
are at risk of not meeting their prudential or governance

We will notify selected providers from January to February 2025.

After we complete the review, we will share our findings in an Insights report. This report will include common mistakes and issues for providers to consider.

Email f&p.reviews&audits@agedcarequality.gov.au if you have any questions.

Support at Home program – pricing arrangement update

On 17 December 2024, changes to Support at Home pricing arrangements were announced by the Australian Government.

Changes include the delayed introduction of price caps for Support at Home services until 1 July 2026. Providers will set their own prices from 1 July 2025 when Support at Home begins.

Providers will continue to make agreements with the older people they provide care to about any price changes from 1 July 2025, as is the case for the current Home Care Packages Program.

In early 2025, the Department of Health and Aged Care (department) will do a survey of Home Care Package and Short-Term Restorative Care providers asking for information on what they expect service prices to be under Support at Home.

More information about Support at Home program

New resources are available on the department’s website for in-home aged care providers on the Support at Home program, including:

Catch up on the department’s recent webinar

If you missed the department’s recent webinar on updates to in-home aged care, you can watch the recording, which covers:

the Single Assessment System
the Support at Home program’s Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme
the actions providers need to take to be ready for the Support at Home program ahead of 1 July 2025.

Making sure your workers can work in aged care

As a provider, you’re responsible for making sure your workers can work in aged care.

To help you better understand your responsibilities for screening workers, we’ve created a new fact sheet, Making sure your workers can work in aged care.

It explains your responsibilities for:

screening workers
preventing breaches to banning orders.

These responsibilities relate to all workers, whether you directly employ them or engage them through subcontracting arrangements. This also includes volunteers.

All approved providers need to have governance systems and processes to meet worker screening requirements.

Screening workers is an important part of your duty to protect the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of older people. By meeting these responsibilities, you help maintain a reliable and accountable workforce that delivers safe, high-quality aged care.

For more information, visit:

Regulating aged care – new resources to explain what we do

Our core purpose is to protect the rights of older people to receive high-quality, safe care. To achieve this, we work with aged care providers and workers to make excellence in aged care the standard.

A new collection of resources explains our role as the regulator and the responsibilities of those delivering aged care, and are companion documents to our Regulatory Strategy 2024-25.

There are 3 guides available to you, each with a different focus. They’re for:

older people
aged care providers
aged care workers.

What do these resources mean for you?

Older people

This resource describes how we use regulation and education to make sure that providers and workers deliver care that puts older people’s needs and preferences at the centre of all they do.

Aged care providers

This resource explains how we support high-quality care by:

monitoring provider compliance
engaging with providers on how they manage risks and correct any failures in care
building sector capability more broadly by providing information and education.

Aged care workers

This resource explains how we work with aged care providers and workers to make excellence in aged care the standard, and how we protect workers’ rights to deliver high-quality, safe care.

You can download the resources here:

Strengthened Quality Standards introductory videos

The strengthened Quality Standards will take effect with the start of the new Aged Care Act on 1 July 2025. The existing Standards will stay in place until then. The strengthened Quality Standards apply to providers in registration categories 4, 5 and 6.

For an overview of what the strengthened Quality Standards will mean for your organisation, you can now watch our new series of introductory videos.

The short videos introduce the strengthened Quality Standards and explain how they’re changing aged care. There are 8 videos in total, including:

Each video summarises:

why the Standard is important
the Outcomes within the Standard
how you can apply the Standard in practice.

The videos are aimed at providers, so they can get a simple overview of the strengthened Quality Standards. We encourage providers to share the videos with their workforce, consumer advisory bodies and older people in their care.

For more details, check out the strengthened Quality Standards resources on our website.

Updates made to care time reporting assessments model pack

The Department of Health and Aged Care (department) has updated the care time reporting assessments model pack to include more relevant information and make it easier to use. This resource helps residential aged care providers prepare care time reporting assessments.

The assessments check care minutes and other information providers report to make sure aged care data is accurate.

The model pack is a guide for providers on how to present the information requested during an assessment. It will help them understand their reporting requirements. It will also help them reduce the time they need to prepare these reports and improve data quality.

The department recommends providers download and use the model pack to prepare for care time reporting assessments. 

If you need help with using the resource, email ANACCReportingAssessments@health.gov.au.

You can also find more information in the care minutes and 24/7 registered nurse responsibility guide.

Food, nutrition and dining

500 residential services to receive a menu and mealtime review this financial year

Providers who applied to take part in the Menu and Mealtime Review program have now been notified on the outcome of their application by email.

Congratulations to all the approved providers who have successfully nominated their residential services to receive a free menu and mealtime review this year. Plena Healthcare, the program management supplier, will contact the services shortly to organise review visits.

About the program

Up to 1,000 Australian Government funded residential aged care services can take part in this program, which ends in June 2026.

An independent Accredited Practising Dietitian will visit the service to do an onsite, comprehensive review of the service’s menu and mealtime practices. The dietitian will provide recommendations and feedback each service can use to improve.

The review is free and confidential.

This program offers providers an opportunity to prepare for the introduction of the new Standard 6: Food and nutrition of the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. The Food and nutrition standard comes into effect on 1 July 2025 and makes clear what we expect for providers regularly assessing menus and mealtimes.

The Menu and Mealtime Review program can help providers better understand the key concepts and themes in this Standard and think about how they can apply them.

For more information about the program or to nominate residential services to take part in the next financial year, approved providers can now apply through the Menu and Mealtime Review Program webpage. The outcomes of these applications will be available in mid-2025.

Safe summer barbecues

Barbecues are a summer tradition for many people. They offer tasty food and a social dining experience. However, for older people who have difficulty eating, drinking or swallowing and require texture-modified foods, planning a safe and enjoyable barbecue requires extra care.

Charred edges, crusts and thick fat might create a great barbecue flavour for some, but they often create food textures that are difficult to eat. Many barbecues serve meats and sides, like sausages, bread and coleslaw. When left unmodified, not modified correctly or a suitable alternative isn’t offered, these foods may not be safe for people on texture-modified diets. However, with the right preparation and creativity, many aged care services are showing us that it is possible to have a barbecue that everyone can enjoy.

You can read more in our full article.

Webinars

Understanding the new Financial and Prudential Standards

Tuesday 18 February, 2.00pm – 3.00pm AEDT

Join us for our first webinar of 2025 where we’ll introduce the new Financial and Prudential Standards.

New Financial and Prudential Standards will commence with the introduction of the new Aged Care Act from 1 July 2025. The new Standards set out the minimum requirements for good financial and prudential management of aged care providers. They are also designed to manage risks to people receiving care and the public.  

Hosted by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, Liz Hefren-Webb, this webinar will cover:

the requirements and provider obligations under the proposed standards
the provider’s role in strengthening financial and prudential operations
the Commission’s approach to regulation.

Guidance on the new Standards will be released soon, and this webinar is part of the Commission’s consultation activities. We encourage providers to join this webinar to hear about the proposed changes, ask your questions and provide feedback.

Panel

This webinar will be hosted by Liz Hefren-Webb, Commissioner, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. She will be joined by:

Peter Edwards – A/g Deputy Commissioner, Regulatory Operations, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Paul Heinemann – A/g Executive Director Compliance Management
Rochelle Stanwix – Director, Financial and Prudential Supervision
Elly Osborne – Director Compliance and Proactive Monitoring.

Registrations are now open.

Training and resources

Online workshops for approved providers

Places are available for our upcoming workshops in February. Each month, we deliver workshops for people working in the aged care sector. These workshops offer practical tips to support learners to understand how to meet their obligations in their service.

Our workshop topics for February are:

Strengthened Quality Standards in practice – learn about the new strengthened Quality Standards and how you can start preparing for them.
Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) in residential and home services – understand your obligations under the SIRS. Learn how to notify us about reportable incidents in residential services.
Effective Incident Management Systems – explore your incident management system (IMS) obligations. Learn how to use your IMS to keep improving.

Commission facilitators deliver our workshops, with subject matter experts from our regulatory teams on hand to answer your questions.

Places are limited, so head to Workshops | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to learn more or register today.

Want access to free aged care education?

Aged Care Learning Information Solution (Alis) is the Commission’s home for online learning for Australian aged care providers and their workers. With courses, online modules and workshops covering a wide range of topics including the strengthened Quality Standards, Serious Incident Response Scheme and Code of Conduct for Aged Care, Alis can help you improve your learning and development.

Whether you have 15 minutes or 2 hours spare to learn, on Alis you will find a range of education topics to help you increase your knowledge to provide safe, high-quality care.

All approved providers and their workers can register and learn online for free, at their own pace, when it suits them.

Get started and sign up for your Alis account today.