Aged Care Quality Bulletin #78 - June 2025 | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

On this page:

Commissioner’s message
Our reports
Aged care reform update
Food, nutrition and dining
Clinical update
Training and resources

Commissioner’s message

On 28 May 2025 we received a Statement of Expectations from the Minister for Aged Care, the Hon Sam Rae, MP. The statement sets out what the government expects from us, their aims and goals, and how we should manage our relationship with the government. It also covers transparency and accountability, and how we support sector readiness for the new rights-based Aged Care Act.

Our Statement of Intent, released this month in response to the Statement of Expectations, explains how we’ll meet the government’s expectations and support their goals. Our statement also outlines our role and functions under the new Act, how we’ll be transparent and accountable, and what we’ll do to make sure people receiving aged care are safe, healthy and well, and have a good quality of life. I encourage you all to look at these documents.

The brief deferral of the introduction of the new Aged Care Act to 1 November means that we have more time to focus on the sector’s readiness as well as our own. It’s now just a few weeks until we’ll come together in Melbourne for our National Aged Care Provider Conference at the end of July where, together, we’ll be ‘Navigating the new Aged Care Act – rights and regulation’. With more than 2,700 in person and virtual attendees, the 2-day program promises to generate great discussion, engagement and shared learning opportunities.

As part of our ongoing work to prepare the sector for the new Act, we’ve just released draft registration forms. These draft forms give you the chance to see what the registration process will look like after 1 November. The interactive forms will be how providers apply for and manage their registration under the new Act.

We’ve published a report on our recent consultation of the proposed new Financial and Prudential Standards. Feedback has informed several updates to the Standards. We’re updating guidance materials to reflect these and other changes, and to support providers through the transition. You can read more about the report in this issue.

This month we also published our latest Sector Performance Report for Quarter 3 of this financial year (January to March 2025). This will be one of our last Sector Performance Reports under the current Act and it focuses on compliance data, risk assessments and complaints.

It's vital, particularly at this time of year, to make sure older people have all the vaccinations they need to keep them healthy. Older people are more likely to get vaccinated when a healthcare professional they trust recommends it. It’s important for services to build trust through honest and open conversation about vaccinations. Read more from our clinical team below.

A reminder to check out our Sector Readiness Plan which details the guidance, webinars and resources we’ve released to the sector over the past 6 months. The brief deferral to 1 November is a welcome opportunity for all providers and workers to familiarise themselves with these resources over the coming months and to have the necessary systems and processes in place.

These resources include our suite of modules on our online learning platform, Alis. A reminder that these modules are available to providers to upload onto your own learning systems – in fact, just under 200,000 learning modules were completed on providers’ own learning systems during April-June!

Liz Hefren-Webb
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner

Our reports

New Standards to improve financial governance

We’ve released a report on our recent consultation on the draft Financial and Prudential Standards.

The new Aged Care Act 2024 (Aged Care Act) gives the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner the power to make standards in relation to the financial and prudential management of aged care services. We conducted early consultation through 2024, and a public consultation was held through February to March this year.

We received more than 160 responses to our public consultation through email submissions and survey responses. Most providers expressed support for the Standards’ aim to improve providers’ financial governance so they can deliver high quality, long-term care and services for older people.

Feedback focused on the proposed Liquidity Standard. We considered this and completed further modelling and analysis. Based on this work we propose 2 key changes to the Liquidity Standard:

Revising the minimum liquidity amount formula to reflect the lower risk profile of refundable amounts for independent living and retirement villages.
Including ‘trade receivables’ in the liquidity calculation.

We also heard calls for clearer definitions and further guidance. In response, we’ll release additional resources – including fact sheets, updated guidance, a liquidity calculator guide, and targeted guidance for home care providers.

This guidance will be published in August on the new Financial and Prudential Standards webpage.

The new Standards will take effect from 1 November 2025.

Read the full Consultation Summary Report.

Sector Performance Report (Jan–Mar 2025) just released

Our latest Sector Performance Report is now available.

This report gives an overview of how providers complied with the Aged Care Quality Standards and other responsibilities from 1 January to 31 March 2025 (Quarter 3, 2024–25). This edition is more streamlined than usual, with a focus on data and charts.

This quarter’s report includes:

Aged Care Quality Standards compliance rates for residential and home services
an assessment of sector performance across key areas of risk, including an overview of the 562 risk assessments (double that of last quarter) we did that targeted higher-risk residential care providers
the number of providers under active or heightened supervision
a report on financial and prudential compliance outlining the 2 targeted reviews we did earlier this year that focused on related party arrangements and the Liquidity Standard
incidents reported under the Serious Incident Response Scheme
the number, rates and types of complaints we received. Medication administration and management, and lack of consultation and communication remained the top complaint issues for residential and home services respectively.

Download the Sector Performance Report (Quarter 3, 2024–25).

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

Latest insights report: Refunding refundable deposits

We’ve published a new insights report on our targeted review that focused on how providers refund refundable deposits.

Refundable deposits include refundable accommodation deposits, refundable accommodation contributions and accommodation bonds. A refundable deposit is one of the ways a person entering residential care can pay for their accommodation costs.

From January to March 2025, we reviewed 30 providers across Australia to check if they understood and complied with their current prudential responsibilities for refunding refundable deposits.

While overall provider compliance was very good, we found that some providers occasionally:

miscalculated, or didn’t pay, the right amount of interest due on the refundable deposit
refunded refundable deposits late.

Our report identified these key things for providers to consider:

Have documents in place that show staff how to refund refundable deposits and understand the impact of receiving probate. (A grant of probate is when a court issues a document confirming that a person’s will is valid.)
Train staff and identify clear roles and responsibilities.
Make sure staff regularly check communication channels to process refunds on time.
Do regular internal audits to identify gaps in your processes.
Give older people and their representatives information on refunding refundable deposits and how you calculate interest.

From 1 November 2025, providers must comply with the prudential responsibilities set out in the Aged Care Act 2024, the new Financial and Prudential Standards and the Aged Care Rules 2025.

You can view this insights report on our website or email us at F&P.reviews&audits@agedcarequality.gov.au with any questions.

Aged care reform update

Extended accreditation for some residential providers

The Australian Government has briefly deferred the start of the new Aged Care Act from 1 July 2025 to 1 November 2025. This gives aged care providers extra time to better:

prepare their clients
support workers
make sure their systems are ready for the changes.

Because of the deferral of the new Aged Care Act, and to support providers to focus on implementing the new Act, the Commissioner will consider extending the accreditation of residential aged care services with expiry dates between 1 July and 31 October 2025. The Commissioner can use powers under the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Rules to extend periods of accreditation.

The residential aged care services that are affected won’t need to apply for reaccreditation for this process. We’ll contact providers to discuss our approach, timeframes and next steps.

As part of our Regulatory Strategy, providers that are affected will still be under supervision to make sure they're providing quality and safe aged care.

Take a look at our draft registration forms

The process to become an approved provider and apply for reaccreditation will change with the new Aged Care Act.

From 1 November 2025, we’ll be responsible for all registration activities for Australian Government funded aged care providers.

We’re creating new interactive forms for providers, organisations and people to apply for and manage their registration under the new Act.

Draft versions of the forms are now available for you to see on our website.

Final forms will be available from 1 November.

We‘ll continue to release and update resources and guidance material in the lead up to 1 November. To keep up to date, keep reading our monthly Quality Bulletin.

New resources on strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards

Ahead of the introduction of the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards on 1 November 2025, we've updated some tools to help providers.

New evidence collection tools have been updated in response to feedback to better assist providers to prepare for the new Act.

The updated tools will:

reduce duplication
better reflect the audit process
promote efficiency.

These tools remain in draft form until the strengthened Quality Standards commence from 1 November 2025, in line with the new Aged Care Act.

More information on these updated tools and the strengthened Quality Standards is available on our website.

The Quality Standards Resource Centre is an online collection that brings together resources from across the sector.

Resources in the Quality Standards Resource Centre are linked to the strengthened Quality Standards, so you can find information related to a particular standard, outcome or theme.

All resources have been carefully selected to make sure they're practical and relevant.
The centre features resources for aged care providers, governing body members and workers.

Take a look at the Quality Standards Resource Centre and make sure you’re ready for the strengthened Quality Standards ahead of 1 November.

You can view guidance on the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.

Fact sheet to help older people understand Financial and Prudential Standards

We've published a fact sheet for older people that explains the new Financial and Prudential Standards (Standards). The Standards are part of the new Aged Care Act 2024 which starts from 1 November 2025.
The Standards make sure aged care providers are financially stable and can continue to provide safe and quality care.

The fact sheet helps older people understand what the Standards mean for them. Under the Standards, they can expect their provider to:

make sure their refundable deposit is safe and refunded when needed
plan ahead to make sure their care won’t stop suddenly
answer questions about money and fees clearly
deal with financial challenges without affecting their care.

We encourage you to read the fact sheet and share it with older people in your care.

Update on fees for providers

Currently we charge fees to become an approved provider. We also charge fees to residential aged care services for reaccreditation site audits. These fees are contained in our current Cost Recovery Implementation Statements.

Please note that indexation will apply to these fees from 1 July to 31 October 2025. You can view the fees here:

We're finalising new charging arrangements that will apply to providers when the new Aged Care Act commences from 1 November. We'll set them out in a new Cost Recovery Implementation Statement which will be available in the lead up to 1 November.

New Care Minutes Performance Statements

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (department) is updating the way they monitor care time in aged care homes. This will help to increase transparency around how providers spend funding.

Starting in the Aged Care Financial Report 2025–26, all residential aged care providers must prepare and submit a new Care Minutes Performance Statement.

Providers will need to use an external registered company auditor to complete an audit of their Care Minutes Performance Statement. A registered company auditor must conduct the audit, under the assurance standard ASAE 3000.

The Care Minutes Performance Statement will include:

the direct care minutes a provider has delivered
associated labour hours and costs
registered nurse (RN) coverage
occupied bed days.

Providers must also keep reporting care minutes and RN coverage through the Quarterly Financial Report and 24/7 Registered Nurse Report.

All residential aged care services, including specialised and non-specialised services, provided at all locations must meet these new requirements.

To better understand your reporting requirements, read Care Minutes Performance Statement guidance.

Food, nutrition and dining

Supporting and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures at mealtimes

In the lead-up to NAIDOC Week – 6 to 13 July – it’s important to talk about the unique food, nutrition and dining needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in aged care.

When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in residential aged care services are served food and drink that they don’t know or like in a busy dining room, it can be a negative or isolating experience.

There are ways to support and celebrate the culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents.

We spoke to Lyn Duckworth, the lifestyle coordinator at Juninga Centre Aged Care Facility in the Northern Territory.

Lyn has worked at Juninga for more than 17 years. She believes in providing person-centred care from the time each person wakes up to the time they go to sleep. Lyn says that cultural training gives staff an insight into the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It’s key to understanding who they are.

Lyn told us that Juninga does regular audits to make sure people are receiving culturally appropriate food. They also have a weekly bush tucker BBQ where they cook kangaroo stews and damper. You can follow Juninga’s example to create enjoyable and meaningful mealtimes.

For tips on creating meaningful mealtimes and a culturally safe dining environment, read the full article on our website.

Clinical update

Supporting aged care services to talk about vaccination

Older people and their representatives are more likely to get vaccinated when a healthcare professional they trust recommends it.

Building trust through honest and open conversation helps older people feel informed and supported in their vaccination decisions. To help reduce fear and doubts about vaccines providers should:

provide clear information
listen to concerns
answer questions confidently.

Recommended vaccinations for older people

In Australia, the current recommended vaccinations for older people are:

a yearly influenza vaccine
a single dose of the pneumococcal vaccine
2 doses of the shingles vaccine.

These are all funded under the National Immunisation Program.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) also recommends a COVID-19 vaccine:

every 12 months for adults 65 to 74 years
every 6 months for adults 75 years and older.

A healthcare professional can give influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time.

Working together on vaccination

It’s important to work together to create a supportive environment where everyone feels confident and informed when talking about vaccination. The aged care team should include registered nurses, pharmacists and a GP.

To support staff to give clear and accurate advice to older people, make sure they have access to vaccination information and education that is:

culturally appropriate
easy to understand.

Many people still hesitate to get vaccinated because they’re confused or receive inaccurate information. Support is available to address any concerns and help tackle inaccurate or false information about vaccination.

Resources like the Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI) tool can help you to have evidence-based conversations about vaccination. The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance developed the free tool.

World Continence Week 2025

Losing some or all control of bladder or bowel function can be distressing for any person. Incontinence affects millions of people around the world but is a hidden problem for many.

World Continence Week (16–25 June) reminds us that it’s important to talk about and look after bladder, bowel and pelvic floor health. The week promotes awareness, best practice clinical care and a person-centred approach.

Incontinence in aged care

Incontinence is a significant problem in Australian aged care homes. Continence Health Australia (formerly Continence Foundation Australia) states that over 70% of people in aged care experience some form of incontinence.

While it’s common in older people, incontinence can affect people at any age and it’s not an inevitable part of ageing.

People in aged care can have periods of incontinence for many reasons. You can help manage, improve and sometimes resolve incontinence by providing the right professional advice and person-centred care.

Addressing and treating incontinence can help restore people’s emotional wellbeing, dignity and quality of life.

The following steps, and support from the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, can help you provide effective continence care:

Individualised care planning and assessment processes – develop and support continence care plans that address the person’s specific needs considering past traumas, culture, and sexuality.
Staff training – provide continence management education and training for aged care staff.
Open communication – start conversations about incontinence to reduce stigma and promote early action.
Effective clinical governance – support quality improvement processes and make changes to improve care.

Resources

National Continence Helpline 1800 33 00 66 – to speak to nurse continence specialists for free and confidential advice.

Continence Health Australia – resources and support services for aged care providers and older people.

Continence Aid Payment Scheme (CAPS) – to help with the cost of continence products.

Continence Health Professionals – professionals who can help with continence.

National Public Toilet Map – provides locations and information about public toilets.

Training and resources

Online live learning

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

Our workshop topic for July is:

The strengthened Quality Standards: preparing for the changes in residential and home services – A workshop to help you learn about the strengthened Quality Standards, and how you can apply them in your workplace.

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

Recorded presentations

We now have a range of recorded presentations that we’ve adapted from workshops we’ve run in the past. You can view these recordings at any time through the Alisplatform.