Aged Care Quality Bulletin #80 - August 2025 | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

Commissioner’s message

As we continue our readiness to 1 November 2025, there are a range of ways you can have your say about aged care in the next few weeks. We’ve released our draft Regulatory Strategy 2025–26 and are looking for your feedback. The draft Strategy continues our provider supervision approach and introduces our rights-based regulatory model.

I encourage you to read the draft strategy and tell us what you think. Your feedback will help make sure the strategy is clear, practical and effective. The public consultation closes on Friday 5 September. More details are available on our Consultation Hub.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is also looking for feedback to help create a training manual for volunteers. You can read more about this below.

On 1 November, we’ll transition any undecided applications to be an approved provider, over to being applications to be a registered provider under the new Aged Care Act 2024. We want to make sure we don’t overcharge these applicants. The article below explains when extra fees apply and how this will be managed. We’ve also published a comparison table on our website.

I was encouraged to see that 76% of people who responded to our survey after the National Aged Care Provider Conference 2025 felt more confident in understanding and navigating the new Act after having attended the conference. Feedback highlighted the value of genuine engagement and discussions, and networking opportunities, and I certainly valued the opportunity to meet and talk with so many people. This feedback will help us to keep improving our support to ready the sector, and future sector events. We’ve now also published recordings of all the sessions from the conference, which you can watch on demand and share with your colleagues. You can also find a range of resources and images from the conference on our conference page.

A reminder that our Sector Readiness Plan now provides a detailed overview of guidance and resources by topic to support your preparations for the new Aged Care Act.

Liz Hefren-Webb

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner

Our reports

Latest insights report: Home care governance

We’ve published a new insights report on a targeted review focused on home care governance.

We do targeted reviews to help providers understand their financial and prudential responsibilities. These reviews also help us to identify risks and improve provider compliance.

In the final quarter of the 2024–25 financial year, we reviewed 30 providers across Australia to see how they complied with their:

legislative obligations for home care agreements
governance requirements under Aged Care Quality Standard 8
strengthened governance responsibilities for their governing body.

We found that most providers complied. The most common areas where they didn’t comply related to their:

governing bodies
quality care advisory bodies
consumer advisory bodies.

For example:

not having a quality care advisory body that met the membership requirements
a governing body that didn’t have a majority of independent non-executive members.

We worked with providers to fix these issues. Those who didn’t comply took steps right away to meet their governance responsibilities.

Key things all providers need to consider

Do you have a governing body, consumer advisory body and quality care advisory body? Do they meet membership requirements?
Do your staff have the right qualifications, skills and experience?
Do you have oversight of privacy, confidentiality and subcontracting arrangements?
Do you have systems in place to:
- record the health status of each person in your care?
- oversee medication management?

From 1 November 2025, providers will need to comply with the governance responsibilities under the new Aged Care Act 2024, the Aged Care Financial and Prudential Standards 2025, Aged Care Rules 2025 and the strengthened Quality Standards.

You can read the full report on our website and email us at F&P.reviews&audits@agedcarequality.gov.au with any questions.

Aged care reform update

Have your say on our draft Regulatory Strategy 2025–26

The introduction of the new Aged Care Act 2024 (new Act) on 1 November 2025 means there are some changes to how we regulate the sector.

To make sure everyone understands what we expect of aged care providers and workers, we’re revising our Regulatory Strategy for 2025–26.

Our draft Regulatory Strategy 2025–26 is now open for public consultation.

This updated strategy builds on our current provider supervision model and introduces rights-based regulation. This follows our expanded role under the new Act.

The revised strategy sets out how we’ll:

uphold the rights of older people under the Statement of Rights
support providers, responsible persons, aged care workers and digital platforms to uphold these rights and comply with their obligations
provide safe and accessible ways for people to make complaints
engage and educate the sector
regulate providers through registration and working with them to bring them back to compliance when needed
monitor aged care workers
uphold whistleblower protections so people can make complaints and give feedback without being afraid of negative consequences
respond to risk in a way that is in proportion to the level of risk to older people
support a sustainable, innovative and continuously improving aged care sector.

We’ll be fair, transparent and consistent in our approach, and we’ll work collaboratively with providers willing to manage risks. We’ll also take strong action where necessary.

Your feedback will help make sure that the strategy is easy to understand, practical and supports high-quality and safe aged care.

Consultation is open until midday AEST, Friday 5 September.

You can find the draft Regulatory Strategy 2025–26 and feedback survey in our Consultation Hub.

Changing fees for provider registration

Under the new Aged Care Act, applications to be an approved aged care provider will change to applications to be a registered aged care provider.

If you apply to be an approved provider before the new Aged Care Act starts on 1 November 2025, and we haven’t made a decision about your application by 31 October 2025, we’ll change your application to an application to be a registered provider.

We’re also changing our fees for applications and audits under the new Aged Care Act.

To avoid charging extra fees if you apply before 1 November, we’ll follow these principles:

Applications submitted before 8 August

We won’t charge extra fees to decide on your application.
We won’t charge extra fees for audits.
If you paid an application fee that is more than you would pay under the new Aged Care Act, we’ll refund the difference after 1 November.

Applications submitted on or after 8 August

If you paid an application fee that is less than you would pay under the new Aged Care Act, we won’t charge extra fees to finish processing your application.
If you paid an application fee that is more than you would pay under the new Aged Care Act, we’ll let you know the difference. You can choose to withdraw your application and resubmit it after 1 November.
We’ll charge a fee for audits.

More information

You can find out more about the changes to applications and fees on our website:

New audit resources

We’ve updated our resources on audits under the new Aged Care Act. The draft audit resources help providers understand what to expect from us when we assess their performance against the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.

If you’re registered in category 4, 5 or 6, you must comply with the strengthened Quality Standards.

We do an audit to assess if you can conform with the relevant strengthened Quality Standards. The audit helps us make a decision about your application for registration or registration renewal.

We audit providers against the strengthened Quality Standards when they’re:

registering as providers
renewing their registration
varying their registration.

The updated audit resources include:

The guides describe:

the purpose of the audit
how we make registration decisions
the stages of the audit process
what providers should expect at each stage
the evidence we consider during audits
the tools we use.

We’ve also released an e-learn module, Auditing the strengthened Quality Standards on our Alis learning platform.

We’ve developed these guides, as well as this e-learning module, to help providers understand the audit process.

New better practice complaints handling resources

We’ve released a better practice guide to complaints handling in aged care services and a rights-based complaints and feedback handling checklist. These updated resources support providers to create effective, resolution-focused complaints systems in aged care services. They’ll help providers improve existing processes and prepare their systems for the new Aged Care Act.

The guide includes advice and case study examples to help providers:

develop rights-based complaints handling processes, policies and procedures
create an encouraging, positive culture around complaints
protect people who make complaints
meet their obligations.

The checklist outlines the complaints and feedback management process and provides tips and helpful resources for each stage.

You can find the guide and checklist on our website.

Help create a new training manual for volunteers

Volunteers play a vital role in the lives of older people. To make sure they’re supported and confident in their roles under the new Aged Care Act they will need to do training.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (department) is developing a mandatory training manual for volunteers in aged care. The manual will help them understand their responsibilities and comply with the Aged Care Act. It will give them the skills and knowledge to support older people safely and respectfully.

If you have volunteers in your service, the department would love to hear from you. Your feedback will help shape the manual.

Tell your staff and volunteers so they can give their views through the consultation survey. You can find the consultation paper and survey on the department’s website.

The survey closes at 5:00 pm Friday 12 September 2025.

Video on how the new Act puts the rights of older people first

A new video explains how the Aged Care Act 2024 will put the rights of older people first.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (department) video shows how the new Aged Care Act will improve key areas of aged care including:

older people’s rights and independence
stronger rules and regulations to make sure care is safe and fair
higher standards and cultural safety
easier access and entry to services
more choice and transparency
a stronger workforce with clear responsibilities.

You can use the video in worker training or to start a conversation with older people.

The video is available in different languages, including Auslan.

You can find more resources to help you prepare for the new Aged Care Act on the department’s website.

Food, nutrition and dining

Cracking the Code: Are runny eggs safe in aged care?

Eggs are a comforting favourite on breakfast menus. Part of why we love them is because we can use them in so many ways. They’re easy to prepare and a great source of nutrition. But in residential aged care, the runny egg has become the (gooey) centre of a debate about food safety and resident choice.

Food safety is very important in aged care. Older people are at higher risk of foodborne illnesses (food poisoning) due to changes their bodies go through with age. Salmonella bacteria can be found in raw or undercooked eggs, so they can be a serious health threat to older people.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) develops and manages food safety standards under the Food Standards Code to make sure food is safe to eat. Under the Code, businesses that serve food to vulnerable people must have a documented and valid food safety program. Residential aged care providers must balance the health risks with older people’s right to choice and they must document the decisions they make. Risk doesn’t mean restriction. It means managing food safety with dignity and respect.

To find out more, read the full article.

Clinical update

Stroke Week: know the signs and you could save a life

National Stroke Week (4 –10 August) reminds us to be aware of the early signs of a stroke and how to respond quickly – because seconds save lives.

A stroke (or cerebrovascular accident) is a sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain. This interruption deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients, causing brain cells to die. Strokes can be caused by blocked or burst arteries.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in Australia (Stroke Foundation). It’s more common in men than women, particularly in older age groups. It’s also more common in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The median age for stroke is around 75 years, but one in 4 cases are in people under 65.

In Australia in 2023, someone had a stroke approximately every 11 minutes.

Learn the F.A.S.T test

National Stroke Week encourages everyone to learn the F.A.S.T test. It’s a simple checklist to see if a person may be having a stroke:

Face-drooping – check their face? Has their mouth drooped?
Arm weakness – can they lift both arms?
Speech difficulty – is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
Time – is critical, note when the symptoms started and call 000 immediately.

A stroke is always a medical emergency. If you see any of these signs in an older person in your care, and their documented plans (often called an Advanced Care Directive) include emergency treatment in hospital, call 000 straight away.

Care staff are the backbone of stroke-smart care

Personal care staff and support workers are often the first to notice changes in older people. Training care staff and providing clear guidance on what to do in an emergency can save lives. Supporting personal care and support workers in stroke response training will:

provide safe quality care for the older person
recognise care staff in their frontline role in caring for older people
provide clear instructions
build confidence to respond to clinical changes.

It also helps create a culture where every staff member and carer are ready to act when every second matters.

Families and carers are important partners

When families and carers visit loved ones, their knowledge of stroke symptoms can speed up the emergency response and they become allies in supporting older people’s health and wellbeing.

Share F.A.S.T resources with families and carers. For example, include information in newsletters, care plans and posters.

Vaccination planning using the Australian Immunisation Register and support from pharmacists

Making sure that people living in aged care homes get their vaccinations when they’re due is an essential part of delivering high-quality, person-centred care.

Vaccines can help prevent people from developing serious illness and hospitalisation from diseases like COVID-19 and influenza.

Aged care providers now have access to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Facility and clinical managers can use it to help plan and organise vaccinations and to identify residents who are due or overdue for vaccines. You should also make sure that each resident’s vaccination status in the AIR is correct and up to date.

Pharmacist vaccination support

Pharmacists can support your vaccination program.

Community pharmacists can:

immunise residents with vaccines on the National Immunisation Schedule
provide COVID-19 vaccinations
help with vaccination clinics.

Aged Care Onsite Pharmacists and pharmacists who offer Quality Use of Medicine services can help providers develop a system to track vaccinations.

Access to the AIR and support from pharmacists and other immunisation providers is making planning vaccinations and protecting older people easier.

Webinars

Aged Care Provider Requirements Search tool

Tuesday 16 September 2025, 2.00pm – 3.00pm AEST

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is hosting a webinar on the Aged Care Provider Requirements Search tool. This webinar will explain how to use the search tool to help understand your organisation’s regulatory requirements under the new Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025.

The webinar will cover:

how to use the Aged Care Provider Requirements Search tool, whether you’re a current aged care provider, a prospective provider or an aged care worker
other resources available to help you prepare for the new Act
a question-and-answer session.

Register now.

You’ll be able to submit questions before and during the webinar.

Find out more about provider requirements and support.

Training and resources

Alis Connect

Our Aged Care Information Solution (Alis) is the Commission’s home of online learning. We’re starting a newsletter, ‘Alis Connect’, for Alis cohort managers and aged care learning and education managers. It gives you information about:

Alis functions and capabilities
cohort manager features
content releases and changes
platform updates
Alis engagement opportunities.

Go to the Alis webpage to subscribe to Alis Connect.

Online live learning

Places are available for our upcoming live learning sessions in September. Each month, we deliver live learning for people working in the aged care sector. These sessions offer practical tips to support learners to understand how to meet their obligations in their service. Commission facilitators deliver our live learning sessions.

Our workshop topic for September is:

The strengthened Quality Standards: preparing for the changes in residential and home services – learn about the strengthened Quality Standards and how you can apply them in your workplace.

Places are limited, so head to Live learning | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to learn more or register today.

Recorded presentations

We now have a range of recorded presentations we have adapted from past workshops. You can view these recordings at any time through the Alis platform.

New eLearning to help you get ready for the new Aged Care Act

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has released a second eLearning module: Aligning to changes. You can access the module on Alis, our online education platform. It’s free and only takes 30 minutes.

It will help you understand what’s changing under the new Aged Care Act and how it might affect your responsibilities, systems and workforce.

Module 2: Aligning to changes covers: