Safe and quality aged care services

Older people in Australia have a right to safe and quality aged care that supports their health and maintains their dignity and quality of life.

The Australian Government is progressing a wide range of reforms informed by the comprehensive recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. We’ve also been informed through feedback and insights received from older people, their families and carers, service providers, the workforce and advocacy groups.

A new approach to regulating aged care

A new model for regulating aged care is being developed to support the new Aged Care Act and the reforms to in-home aged care. The model will place older people front and centre of the regulatory design. It will enhance the protections of older people and uphold their rights. Under the new model, regulation will be specific and proportionate to risk and support continuous improvement in the sector.

Reviewing Aged Care Quality Standards

The Aged Care Quality Standards define what good care should look like. We are reviewing the Quality Standards through significant consultation with older people, their families and carers, the sector and experts. We are improving the Quality Standards with a focus on key areas such as dementia, palliative care, clinical care, governance, diversity and food and nutrition.

Painting a clearer picture with better data

We are working with consumer groups, other government agencies, researchers and providers to develop an Aged Care Data Strategy. This will set out an agreed vision and guiding principles, including safeguarding privacy and security for our future aged care data system. It will provide better information to support people to make informed choices about their care, and help to manage, monitor and improve the quality and safety of aged care.

Growing a capable and committed workforce

Older people in Australia need a skilled, diverse and valued workforce to provide high-quality care. We are working on a range of solutions to boost workforce numbers and increase workers’ skills in the following ways:

• supporting a real wage increase for workers

• additional TAFE and university training places, graduate and clinical placement programs, scholarships and additional payments

• migration pathways for qualified, experienced workers

• more training, especially in the areas of dementia care, palliative care, and infection and prevention control

• registered nurses on site and on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in aged care homes from July 2023

• ensuring aged care providers deliver on average 215 minutes of care per day from October 2024.

Transparent, accountable and financially sustainable services

Changes made to legislation in August 2022 improve the care, pricing, transparency, accountability, financial management and sustainability of aged care providers and enable:

• the new Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) funding model, which offers a more equitable approach to funding that better matches funding with the costs of delivering care

• a new body, the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority, which will recommend annual aged care price changes to Government, to make sure funding reflects the real costs of delivering high-quality residential care to older people

• new annual and quarterly financial reports that provide a big picture of the sector’s performance, including revenue and expenses for care, accommodation, and everyday living costs such as food and maintenance

• comparable, standardised and benchmarked financial information on residential aged care services published on the My Aged Care website for older people to make informed choices.