Strengthened Quality Standards

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About the program

The current Aged Care Quality Standards will be strengthened as part of the new Aged Care Act and regulatory model.

In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended that the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the Department) review the Standards.

They recommended that the reviewed Standards include vital areas such as:

  • food and nutrition
  • dementia
  • diversity
  • governance
  • clinical care.

The Department conducted consultations, reviewed and revised the draft strengthened Standards. We contributed to the revisions as national aged care services regulator.

In February 2025, the Department published a revised draft of the strengthened Quality Standards. It reflects wording changes that have been made as part of the drafting of the subordinate legislation in the new Aged Care Act.

The strengthened Quality Standards will commence from 1 November 2025, in line with the new Aged Care Act. The existing Standards will remain in effect until then.

To prepare the aged care sector for the upcoming changes, we are implementing the Stronger Standards, Better Aged Care Program.

Through the program, we are:

  • changing how we assess the quality of aged care and services
  • building awareness and capability in the aged care sector
  • simplifying our processes and resources so they are consistent and easy to understand

For more information, read our Stronger Standards, Better Aged Care Program Vision Statement

Sector support

The Commission has produced a suite of draft guidance resources for providers and workers on the strengthened Quality Standards.

The Aged Care Rules 2025 will support the new Aged Care Act and provide further information on how the Act will work. We are publishing our resources in draft form to assist providers to prepare for the new Act. This content remains in draft and will be updated after the Aged Care Rules come into force.

We conducted a public consultation from 6 February to 19 May 2024 seeking feedback on the draft resources. We received feedback via written submissions, surveys and roundtable discussions.

A report is now available on the outcomes of the public consultation. 

We are now updating the resources in response to your feedback and will release the updates gradually.

The registration categories included in the drafts are no longer current. The 6 proposed registration categories are available on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.

Standards guidance

The strengthened Quality Standards guidance supports providers and workers to understand and comply with the strengthened Standards. It also promotes best practice in service provision.

We have considered your feedback following last year’s public consultation and made changes to make the guidance more effective and easier to use. 

We have:

  • simplified the language
  • emphasised the importance and applicability of Standard 1 across all standards
  • added more examples, including for:
    • services providing care to people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups
    • rural and remote services. 

We’re also working on updating the guidance for workers and governing bodies, as well as adding further considerations for home care settings. We’ll let you know when these updates are available.

Read the updated guidance for providers on the digital guidance tool. 

The online tool helps you find guidance tailored to your circumstances. Choose your registration category to see the Standards that will apply to you and receive detailed guidance to support compliance with each Outcome.

Audit guidance

The draft audit resources support providers to understand what to expect from us when we assess performance against the strengthened Quality Standards.

Following consultation with the sector, we are revising our draft audit resources to make sure they accurately reflect the audit process and to help you understand what to expect.

The resources below are drafts only. We will release updated audit resources, as well as additional guidance, before we start auditing against the new strengthened Standards.

Evidence collection tools

We have updated our evidence collection tools in response to your feedback. The updated tools:

  • reduce duplication
  • better reflect the audit process
  • promote efficiency.

The updated tools replace the draft pre-audit preparation tool and request for information templates.

Applicants must complete the Audit Evidence Collection Tool (AECT) and submit supporting documents to us as part of the audit process. We use the AECT to collect evidence about an applicant’s systems and processes, and how they deliver high-quality care to older people.

The AECT is different for providers applying to be registered for the first time, renew their registration, or vary their registration:

Providers renewing their registration must also complete the Care Delivery Evidence Collection Tool (CDECT). We use the CDECT to collect evidence about how a provider’s systems and processes are embedded at a service.

There are two versions of the CDECT, depending on the service type:

Standard audit meeting agendas

During registration, renewal of registration and variation of registration audits our audit team will conduct meetings with the applicant or provider to:

  • support the audit process
  • gather evidence about systems and processes
  • support open and transparent communication and feedback throughout the audit. 

We have developed standard meeting agendas to support providers to prepare and to make sure there is a consistent and transparent approach to conducting meetings during an audit. Meeting agendas include the purpose of the meeting, topics that will be discussed, who should attend and an approximate timeframe.

Standard audit initiation meeting agenda

The audit initiation meeting is held with the audit team and 1 to 2 of the applicant's or provider's nominated responsible persons for the audit. At the meeting we will discuss the audit program and provide support to make sure you're prepared. We hold the meeting online and we have one initiation meeting for each audit program.

Standard audit initiation meeting agenda

Standard governing body meeting agenda

The governing body meeting is held with the audit team and 1 to 3 representatives of the applicant's or provider's governing body. The meeting is to gather evidence and understand how the board are meeting their responsibilities. It also looks at how the provider implements and monitors governance systems, policies and processes to deliver safe, quality and continuously improved care. We hold the meeting online and we have one governing body meeting for each audit program.

Standard governing body meeting agenda

Standard senior management meeting agenda

The senior management meeting is held with the audit team and 2 to 5 representatives of the applicant's or provider's senior management. The meeting is to gather evidence and understand how senior management lead and contribute to the overall assessment of governance arrangements, systems, and processes, to deliver safe and quality care within the organisation. We hold the meeting online and we have one senior management meeting for each audit program.

Standard senior management meeting agenda

Standard opening meeting agenda

Renewal of registration audit only. The opening meeting will be held with the audit team and 1 to 3 members of the provider's key contacts or senior personnel from the home and community care or residential care home which we're assessing. The meeting discusses the logistics of the assessment and helps us to understand more about how you deliver care and services to older people. We hold the opening meeting online and we hold one opening meeting for providers delivering categories 4 and 5, and one for each category 6 residential care home before the audit team come onsite.

Standard opening meeting agenda

Standard entry meeting agenda

Renewal of registration audit only. The entry meeting will be held with the audit team and the provider’s key contact for that site (care delivery location or residential care home). The meeting is held when the audit team enter the site and before they start interviews and observations with older people, supports and workers. We will discuss:

  • logistics of the auditors work area
  • access to information, older people, supporters and workers
  • a brief tour of the site. 

We hold the entry meeting onsite with options for online attendance.

Standard entry meeting agenda

Standard closing meeting agenda

The closing meeting will be held with the audit team and representatives of the provider on the last day of the audit or assessment and will mark the end of evidence gathering. We will discuss the preliminary audit findings and ratings. We will hold this meeting once for applicant or provider registration and variation audits. During renewal audits we will hold the meeting once for categories 4 and 5, and once for each category 6 residential care home. We will hold the meeting onsite where the audit team are onsite with options for online attendance.

Standard closing meeting agenda

Guidance for workers

The draft worker guidance provides aged care workers with an overview of the strengthened Standards and what it means for them.

The guidance applies to anyone employed or engaged by a registered provider to deliver aged care services to older people. This includes volunteers, care managers or coordinators, clinicians, care workers, cleaning staff, kitchen staff, lifestyle or activities staff, and people in management or administrative roles.

Fact sheets and posters

We have released a suite of overview fact sheets to help providers understand the new strengthened Quality Standards and your obligations in meeting them.

In these fact sheets, you will find:

  • Key concepts and themes for each strengthened Quality Standard.
  • Statements from older people and workers which describe how they will feel and act when the Quality Standard is being upheld.
  • Information about demonstrating conformance with the Quality Standard.
  • Reflective questions.
  • Other resources which give you extra detail on the Quality Standards and draft guidance if you are interested in learning more.

We have also released a quick reference guide which gives you an overview of why there are different registration categories, what this means for you in practice, and how you can support your workers.

You can download the fact sheets here:

We have developed two printable A3 posters that will help workers and older people understand the intent of the strengthened Standards.

You can download those posters here:

We have also collated useful resources and suggested activities into a handy checklist that will help providers and workers understand their obligations under the strengthened Standards.  

Download the Provider checklist

Quality Standards Resource Centre

Access hundreds of resources on delivering quality aged care through the Quality Standards Resource Centre.

The online collection brings together more than 500 resources from across the sector onto one platform, with resources from our website and external organisations. All resources are linked to the strengthened Quality Standards, helping you extend your understanding of key concepts.

The materials aim to provide more detail and support for providers, governing body members and workers in delivering safe, quality care.

Up to Standard videos

Our Up to Standard video series gives you the latest updates and answers to the most common questions we have received about the strengthened Standards.

Strengthened Quality Standards Introductory videos

We have released a suite of introductory videos to provide you with foundational knowledge of your obligations under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. The first video introduces the strengthened Quality Standards, and the remaining 7 videos each focus on explaining the key topics in the individual standards.

You can watch the videos here:

Webinars

We hold regular webinars to update the sector about our work on the strengthened Standards. Go to the webinar page to register for upcoming webinars or to watch recordings of past events.

Framework analysis

To support the sector in understanding the changes to the Standards, we conducted a framework analysis by comparing the current Standards with the draft Standards.

Internal training

Providers can download this strengthened Quality Standards training package or this case study activity pack to deliver to their own staff. The format enables you to adjust the content to suit your service category and focus on the areas which are most relevant to your staff.

You can also download conversation cards which will help you engage workers with key concepts in each Standard. Workers can use the questions on each card as prompts for explaining how they apply the Standards in practice.

Online learning 

Alis modules

Online learning modules on the strengthened Quality Standards are available through Alis, our online learning platform. Register for Alis to access.

  • The strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards: This series of introductory learning modules helps aged care workers understand what is expected of them under the strengthened Quality Standards. The 8 interactive modules provide a foundational understanding of the strengthened Standards, supporting workers to deliver rights-based, person-centred care in line with the new Aged Care Act.
  • Case study series: These courses use case studies to help providers and workers understand what the strengthened Quality Standards look like in practice. Using a scenario, learners explore the actions they can take to provide care that meets the strengthened Quality Standards. There are modules for both residential and home care settings.

Live learning

Current:

Previous:

  • The strengthened Quality Standards in practice – Watch a recording of this session to get an overview of the structure and requirements of the strengthened Quality Standards.

Register for Alis to access live learning  and watch recordings of previous sessions.

Strengthened Quality Standards pilot

We conducted a pilot project to test:

  • how the draft strengthened Standards will be applied in practice
  • whether the draft Standards support the delivery of high-quality aged care
  • a proposed audit methodology
  • the draft assessment grading
  • how we can support providers to understand and comply with the strengthened Standards.

The pilot included a sample of 40 providers representative of the aged care sector.

Overall feedback from the participating providers was positive, indicating they found the audit process:

  • more transparent,
  • easier to understand
  • embraced the natural justice process to ensure they could review and comment before compliance decisions are made.

Have your say

We value your questions, suggestions and feedback. We look forward to working together to improve the quality of aged care.

If you have any questions or comments, please email agedcarereform@agedcarequality.gov.au.

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Acknowledgement of Country

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, water and community. We pay our respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that content on this website may contain images of deceased persons.