Everyone has the right to a safe, respectful and enjoyable aged care experience.
The Code of Conduct for Aged Care (the Code) describes how aged care providers, their governing persons and workers (including volunteers) must behave and treat people receiving aged care.
It helps ensure that people can have confidence and trust in the quality and safety of aged care they receive.
The Code:
- supports a person's right to personal choice, dignity and respect
- promotes kind, honest and respectful behaviour
- keeps people receiving aged care safe from harm.
Watch our video explaining the Code:
Transcript of 'Code of Conduct for Aged Care'
Note that the Code doesn't apply to:
- the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)
- the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFACP).
However, these providers must still provide safe and respectful care in keeping with the Code.
About the Code
The Code outlines 8 elements of expected behaviour:
| 1. Act with respect for people’s rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making in accordance with applicable laws and conventions. |
| 2. Act in a way that treats people with dignity and respect and values their diversity. |
| 3. Act with respect for the privacy of people. |
| 4. Provide care, supports and services safely and competently, with care and skill. |
| 5. Act with integrity, honesty and transparency. |
| 6. Promptly take steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that may impact the quality and safety of care, support and services. |
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7. Provide care, supports and services free from:
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8. Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to:
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Your responsibilities
People receiving aged care services should always be treated well and feel safe.
As an aged care worker, you have the most contact with people receiving care. Your behaviour affects how people feel about themselves, and if they feel safe and supported.
You must always act in a way that's:
- respectful
- kind, and
- consistent with the behaviours set out in the Code.
Provider responsibilities
Approved providers must act in a way that's:
- respectful
- kind, and
- consistent with the Code.
They must also support, equip and prepare you to comply with the Code. This includes:
- providing training
- making sure policies and procedures are easily accessible, and
- taking action to make sure you meet the Code.
The provider you work or volunteer for should have education and training options available for you to learn more about your responsibilities under the Code.
If you have not received education and training on the Code, speak to your employer. You can also contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission or your union for information on the Code.
Responsibilities of governing persons
Governing persons of approved providers play an important role as leaders of the organisation. They not only contribute to how the organisation operates and upholds its responsibilities, but their behaviours must also be consistent with the Code.
What we can do
We can take action if we find that an aged care provider, a governing person or a worker has done something that isn't consistent with the Code.
We can also make decisions about whether a person is suitable to provide aged care.
In severe cases, we may:
- ban an aged care worker or governing person from working in aged care
- apply a sanction or revoke an aged care provider's approved provider status.
When we do take action, our processes and decisions need to be fair and appropriate. This is called procedural fairness.
Our fact sheet on procedural fairness and worker regulation provides more information about how we apply procedural fairness, and what you can do if you think procedural fairness hasn’t been applied.
Our Banning orders register has information about individuals against whom a banning order has been made.
More information
The following resources will help you understand your obligations:
- Know your Code - free learning module in our Aged Care Learning Information System
- Code of Conduct for Aged Care – a fact sheet for aged care workers
- Procedural fairness and worker regulation – a fact sheet for aged care workers
- Code of Conduct for Aged Care – worker quick guide
- Code of Conduct for Aged Care – worker poster
- Your Code – self‑assessment quiz
- Code of Conduct for Aged Care: Guidance for aged care workers and governing persons
- Case studies
Visit our resource library to explore all the resources on the Code.
In November 2022, we hosted a Code of Conduct for Aged Care: Aged care worker webinar. You can watch the webinar recording and review the presentation slides.
Visit our Aged Care Reforms webpage for recordings and slides of other webinars we've hosted.
