The national Aged Care Quality Standards have been in effect since 1 July 2019 following an extensive consultation process. They focus on fundamental outcomes for consumers and the level of care and service standards that Commonwealth subsidised aged care services are required to comply with.

The 8 standards apply to all aged care settings including residential and home aged care services, and they provide a framework of core requirements for quality and safety in care.

You can read the standards using a free mobile app. Search for Quality Standards in the App Store (for Apple devices) or Android Google Play.

Each standard is expressed in 3 ways – as a statement of outcome for consumers, as a statement of expectation for aged care providers, and as organisational requirements for providers to be able to demonstrate that they have met each standard.

In the lead-up to the commencement of the Quality Standards, more than 30,000 people accessed the Commission’s face-to-face education sessions and online training videos that explained their purpose and content. Provider education packs were distributed to over 5,000 aged care services to support their implementation of the standards.

The Commission has since significantly expanded the initial resources and now has an extensive suite of materials to help aged care providers understand, implement and maintain the standards in the services they provide, and to help consumers know what they can expect from service providers. These resources include reflective questions in relation to each organisational requirement to support best practice, and examples of actions and evidence that the Commission may look for in an assessment of provider performance against the standards.

If you want a refresher about the Aged Care Quality Standards, or you’re a new provider or worker in the aged care sector and need information and guidance on the standards and your compliance responsibilities, visit the Quality Standards section of our website.

Some of the resources you’ll find on our website include:

• the ‘Guidance and resources for providers to support the Aged Care Quality Standards’ publication
• a Quality Standards self-assessment tool and self-assessment guidance
• numerous modules on Alis, our Aged Care Learning Information Solution, including about each of the 8 Quality Standards as well as key concepts such as clinical governance, open disclosure and partnership
• storyboards and a storyboards user guide to provide a pictorial representation of how each of the standards applies in a rural and remote context
• Quality Standards resources for consumers
• a Regulatory Bulletin outlining the assessment methodology the Commission’s quality assessors use when undertaking performance assessments under the Quality Standards
• minimising the use of restrictive practices and behaviour support plan resources
• infection prevention and control information for providers
• a ‘Better practice guide to complaints handling in aged care services’.

To help aged care workers access Alis content, all Commonwealth-funded aged care providers can continue to access 4 free Alis registrations until 1 July 2022. Providers can also purchase additional registrations to support their staff’s ongoing professional development. To access the learning modules or to register for Alis, go to learning.agedcarequality.gov.au.