About the program
The National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) started on 1 July 2019. It requires Commonwealth-subsidised residential aged care services to collect data and report on a set of quality indicators every 3 months.
The QI Program can provide consumers with useful information on the delivery of quality aged care.
Reports on the quality indicators are published quarterly on the GEN Aged Care Data website by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The reports provide information at a national, state and territory level, which means individual services can't be identified in the data.
What are the quality indicators?
For each residential aged care consumer, services must measure and report on:
- pressure injuries
- use of physical restraint
- unplanned weight loss.
From 1 July 2021, services will also need to report on:
- falls and major injury
- medication management.
Why is the program important?
The QI Program is important because it asks aged care service providers to measure, monitor and report important aspects of the quality of their care.
The QI Program also:
- provides nationally comparable quality indicator data across residential care services in Australia
- creates an evidence base to make quality improvement initiatives simpler
- over time, will enhance how people understand quality in residential care services because they can access better information
What is the Commission's role?
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (the Commission) monitors the quality of services in residential care in several ways. All residential services must be accredited to receive government subsidies and are therefore subject to a full audit against the Aged Care Quality Standards.
Between these audits, the Commission may receive complaints, which could be a window into a problem at the service. We will respond by engaging with the provider about the issue raised in the complaint, and we may conduct a spot check at the service to see if there are broader problems.
We can also request information from the provider at any time about their compliance with their responsibilities.
When combined with other information we receive and hold about the performance of a service, the QI Program data helps us to understand potential issues at a service and guides our regulatory activities.
More information
More information about the QI Program is available on our website and on the Department of Health website. There is also a fact sheet about the program available on the department's website specifically for aged care recipients and their families.
Contact
If you have any questions about the QI Program, you can contact us on 1800 951 822 or email us at QIProgram@agedcarequality.gov.au.