Aged care laws in Australia have now changed. The new Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025 now apply. While we complete updating of our website, including draft guidance and other materials, to align with the new laws, providers are advised to refer to the new Act and Rules for any required clarification of their obligations and legal responsibilities. Thank you for your patience.

Aged Care Quality Bulletin #83 - November - December 2025

Commissioner’s message

Welcome to our December issue of Quality Bulletin, our first under the new Aged Care Act 2024. We're now 5 weeks into the new era for aged care in Australia. Recognising the immense effort from providers to get ready for the new Act, I hope you’re all now feeling confident about your new requirements and where to go if you have questions.

Since 1 November we've continued to improve and refine our processes. The new section on our website, Understanding the new Aged Care Act, remains live. It’s a great starting point for the latest information on what’s new under the Act. It includes new guidance and resources, and advice on any transition issues that we’re managing.

To better support you, we've launched a new Provider enquiry form on our website. The form takes a few minutes to complete and helps us prioritise and get your enquiry to the right person. You can still email us your questions to info@agedcarequality.gov.au or call 1800 951 822 if your query is urgent.

A necessary part of being a regulator is asking providers to give us information, for example when you have a change in circumstances for your organisation. The new Act brought about a new suite of forms and processes for this reporting and we’ve included a roundup of these, and the guidance available, in this newsletter.

As summer is now upon us, it’s important to check your plans for heatwaves and other extreme weather events. The Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecast for December to February is predicting above average temperatures for most of Australia.

Providers and staff need to remember that older people are at greater risk of heat-related illness. Our latest clinical alert can help you prepare for hot weather and preventing heat-related illness.

The summer and holiday season, when families and friends come together, is also an important time to check the vaccination rates and infection, prevention and control (IPC) processes at your service. Providers need to make sure that residents and staff are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. You can read more about IPC in our article below.

As we draw close to the end of the year, and for me, the end of my first year in this role, I would like to thank you for the care you and your staff deliver to older people every day, and wish you a wonderful holiday season.

Liz Hefren-Webb
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner

Aged care reform update

Last call to meet Support at Home pricing obligations

Under the Aged Care Act 2024 (Aged Care Act), older people have the right to clear information so they can make informed decisions about their care. This includes the right to access clear pricing and service information for Support at Home services.

Last week, the Commission and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (department) sent a joint email to remind providers to update their Support at Home service information and pricing on the My Aged Care Service and Support Portal. The deadline for this is Friday, 12 December.

Pricing and service information is published on the My Aged Care Find a Provider tool. Providing current, accurate information helps:

  • older people to compare providers and finalise their service agreements
  • providers to meet their obligations.

How we monitor compliance

The department is actively monitoring providers to make sure their pricing is transparent and reasonable.

We continue to monitor regulatory intelligence, information from complaints and other data to identify provider non-compliance. If we believe a provider hasn't met their obligations, we may take compliance or enforcement action.

Consumer advisory bodies: resources for providers

We‘ve updated our resources to help providers understand their obligations about consumer advisory bodies. Consumer advisory bodies give valuable feedback to providers’ governing bodies. They’re a way for older people to have input into the care and services they receive.  

The resources include: 

  • an updated fact sheet explaining consumer advisory body obligations
  • an updated poster encouraging older people to join
  • a new resource toolkit that helps older people run a consumer advisory body. 

Providers must: 

  • write to people receiving care at least once every 12 months to offer to set up a consumer advisory body
  • consider the feedback from consumer advisory bodies when making decisions about the care they provide. The governing body must write to the consumer advisory body to explain how they used the feedback. 

You can read more about consumer advisory bodies on the Provider governance responsibilities webpage.

Applications open for the Support at Home Thin Markets Grant

Round 2 of the Support at Home Thin Markets 2025–26 Grant for rural, remote and specialised services is now open. This grant is managed by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Eligible Support at Home providers can apply for funding to support them to deliver services and set reasonable prices for those services.

To be eligible, providers must deliver services either:

Learn more and apply now on GrantConnect.

Applications close at 2pm (AEDT) on 14 January 2026.

Guide to aged care law

The new aged care legal framework started on 1 November. It introduced the Aged Care Act and Aged Care Rules 2025.

To help you understand these changes, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has been releasing sections of the Guide to Aged Care Law in stages over the last few months. All 8 chapters are now available.

The guide explains key themes of the new laws, including:

  • starting in the aged care system
  • funding arrangements
  • governance requirements
  • regulatory processes
  • information management.

Read the Guide to Aged Care Law.

You can also find other resources to help you put the new Act into practice.

New processes for providers

There are many new processes for providers under the new Aged Care Act. Some of these processes mean providers need to notify us and complete forms. The good news is we have lots of guidance material and resources to help you. Read below for 4 key situations where you may need to get in touch with us, how to do it, and guides to support you.

Notifying us of a change in circumstances

Providers must notify the Commission within 14 days of specific changes in their circumstances under the new Aged Care Act. These are:

  • changes or an event that affects a provider’s suitability to provide aged care
  • changes that affect the suitability of a responsible person
  • changes in who your responsible persons are
  • changes to your organisation or governance arrangements
  • changes in the scale of your services – such as providing more or less services
  • changes in the service types you provide
  • changes to associated providers (registered providers in categories 4, 5 and 6 only)
  • changes to an approved residential care home
  • changes to financial and prudential matters.

To notify us, you’ll need to complete the Change in circumstance notification form as well as the forms specific to the change you’re notifying us about.

For example, if you’re notifying us about adding a responsible person, you need to complete and submit both the:

  • Change in circumstance notification form to let us know the change notifications you’re submitting and details about you
  • Adding a person as a responsible person form for each responsible person you’re adding to your registration.

If you don’t submit all completed forms or their supporting documents for each, we may reject your form. In the change in circumstance guidance you’ll find the ‘Evidence’ tab that lists the supporting documents.

You can find the forms on our website.

More information

You can find more information on making a change in circumstance notification and notifying us of a change in circumstances on our website.

Provider registration forms and guidance

Under the new Aged Care Act, registered providers must:

  • meet obligations and registration requirements
  • comply with any registration conditions
  • renew their registration to continue to provide aged care services.

To help providers, and those applying to register, to submit all the information they need to meet their obligations, we’ve developed new provider registration forms and guidance material.

Providers must complete forms to:

You can find these forms on our website at application, request and notifications.

Follow the instructions to help you find and submit a form.

Use the registration guidance to help you to complete a form.

Visit our website to learn more about provider registration.

Changes to the number of available beds

Each approved residential aged care home has a specific number of beds attached to their approval. You can find out how many for each aged care home on the Government Provider Management System (GPMS).

Approved residential providers need to keep accurate and up to date information about how many beds they have available.

If you take beds offline (not available for a short time) or bring them back into operation, you need to report these changes to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (department). The department, through the Secretary, acts as the System Governor for aged care.

You'll need to contact the department’s Local Network to update your records in the GPMS for you and share with the Commission.

You might also need to ask for a variation of your registration from the Commission.

When to apply to us for a variation

If you want to change the number of beds covered by your approval, you need to apply to us to make this change to your registration through a variation. This includes a change to:

  • increase the number of beds covered by your approval (at any time)
  • decrease the number of beds covered by the approval for 2 years or more (for example, because of major renovations or damage).

You can find more information on changes to the number of available beds on our website.

Keeping your records and notifications up to date helps make sure we, and the department, have accurate information about your residential aged care home.

Digital platform operators

We regulate digital platform operators under the new Aged Care Act.

All digital platform operators need to meet obligations about checking and displaying on their platform: 

  • registration and banning orders
  • worker screening
  • credentials and qualifications.

Digital platform operators that are constitutional corporations need to meet obligations about:

  • operating the digital platform
  • displaying the Statement of Rights on the platform
  • managing complaints
  • managing reportable incidents
  • reporting
  • record keeping
  • providing information.

Digital platform operators that are constitutional corporations must complete the Digital platform operator notification form to notify or update the Commission about their operation. You need to submit these forms within 14 days of:

  • your operation starting work
  • changes in your operation.

If you’re a digital platform operator who’s also a registered provider, or planning to be one, you still need to tell us you’re operating a digital platform through this form.

You can find more information on digital platform operators on our website.

Associated providers guidance and resources

Registered providers are responsible for the quality, safety and compliance of services associated providers deliver. An associated provider is an organisation that delivers services for a registered provider.

Registered providers must notify us when they’re adding or changing agreements with associated providers.

If you’re registered in category 4, 5 or 6 and decide to use an associated provider, you must tell us if you:

  • start a new arrangement with an associated provider to deliver services for you
  • vary or extend an existing arrangement between you and an associated provider
  • end an arrangement between you and an associated provider. 

To tell us, you need to submit a Change in circumstance notification form and the forms relevant to the changes about your associated providers. For example, if you’re removing an associated provider, you need to complete the:

  • Change in circumstance notification form
  • Remove an associated provider form.

If you’re removing more than one associated provider from your registration, you need to submit a form for each one.

More information

Register for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing webinar on associated providers on Wednesday 10 December 2025, 2:00pm to 3:30pm AEDT.

Financial and prudential

Evaluated minimum liquidity amount notification form and when to use it

Under the new Financial and Prudential Standards non-government providers registered in Category 6 – residential care must have enough liquidity to meet obligations and manage financial shocks. Liquidity means having enough cash or cash equivalent to meet your financial obligations.

The Liquidity Standard sets a default minimum liquidity amount (MLA). Each quarter you must calculate:

  • your default MLA (using the formula in the Liquidity Standard)
  • an evaluated MLA (an amount you work out that can be equal, higher or lower than your default MLA).

These calculations help you decide if the default MLA suits your risk and operating environment. They also make sure you regularly review and consider your financial position. For example, you may choose to hold higher than your default MLA during renovations to improve your financial resilience.

When to submit the form

  • You must submit an Evaluated MLA notification form if you choose to use an evaluated MLA.
  • You don’t need to submit a notification form if you choose to hold the default MLA or a higher amount.
  • You can also use the notification form to revoke (cancel) or re-determine a past choice.

What if you fall below your chosen MLA?

Submit a Change in circumstances notification form if:

  • your liquidity drops (or you predict to drop) below your chosen MLA
  • other financial challenges could affect your ability to provide services.

For more information visit Changes to financial and prudential matters.

New Financial and Prudential Standards videos

The new Financial and Prudential Standards (F & P Standards) are now in place. Not all providers need to meet all three F & P Standards – it depends on your registration category. It’s a condition of your registration to comply with the F & P Standards that apply to you. 

To help you understand what you need to do, we’ve produced short explainer videos for each Standard. Watch the:

You can find more information about each Standard and who they apply to in the Financial and Prudential Standards: Guidance for providers.

Targeted review on the new Financial and Prudential Management Standard

From January 2026, we’ll conduct a targeted review on the new Financial and Prudential Management Standard.

This is one of 3 new Financial and Prudential Standards that started on 1 November. Under the Financial and Prudential Management Standard registered providers must set up and maintain a system that keeps them financially strong and sustainable. The system must also show how providers manage their finances and operations responsibly and in line with the law.

We want to find out how well providers understand and comply with this Standard.

We may choose you for this targeted review if you:

  • hold refundable accommodation deposits
  • haven’t met your financial and prudential obligations in the past
  • are at risk of not meeting your financial and prudential obligations.

We'll let the selected providers know from January 2026.

Targeted reviews raise awareness of provider responsibilities and help us assess how well providers understand their obligations. They allow us to better support and educate all providers, and work with them to fix any issues. You can find more information about targeted reviews on our website.

First Nations

New guide to help Mob live safely and independently at home

A new guide to help older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live safely and independently at home is now available.

The LiveUp Everyday tools to help Mob Guide lists tools and equipment that can make daily tasks easier and safer, such as kettle tippers, easy-grip scissors and gardening aids.

It also includes where you can buy these items online and in person.

Independent Living Assessment developed the guide for the LiveUp healthy ageing initiative, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and older people.

You can find more information and resources to help you age well and stay independent on the LiveUp website.

Subscribe to Ageing Well on Country newsletter

Ageing Well on Country is the latest e-newsletter by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. It supports aged care providers who deliver services to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait lslander people.

The newsletter shares:

  • latest news and updates on aged care reforms
  • practical resources and information to support culturally safe aged care
  • guidance on actions providers may need to take.

Subscribe to Ageing Well on Country to stay informed and connected.

Food and nutrition

Person-centred diabetes care

Diabetes is a common condition in older people. It happens when there is too much glucose in the blood due to the body not making enough insulin or effectively using the insulin that it makes. In aged care, a person-centred approach to diabetes care is essential to living well. We recognised World Diabetes Day on 14 November and want to share stories of inspiring practices in aged care.

Each person is unique

Everyone has individual needs and preferences, often based on their:

  • medical history
  • religious or cultural background
  • personal health goals.

As people age, their bodies also change. How medicines work in the body will be different for each person. People’s appetite and physical activity levels will be different too.

Diabetes management in aged care needs to be safe, flexible and based on people’s needs, goals and preferences to achieve their best quality of life. In residential aged care, this could mean working with the older person and their multidisciplinary care team (including medical and allied health professionals) to talk about:

  • how often they have their blood sugar levels tested
  • what blood sugar level targets work best for them
  • changes to their medication
  • their personal sick day management plan.

There’s no one best diet

Most people living with diabetes have heard the term ‘diabetic diet’ or been told they can’t eat certain foods. Strict diets may focus on limiting carbohydrates as well as sugar, salt and fat and may not be suitable for older people living with diabetes.

Instead, the focus should be on providing people with balanced, nutritious and enjoyable meals that suit their personal preferences, culture and routines.

You can read about diabetes care and how some services are putting people at the centre of that care in our full article.

Last chance to receive a free menu and mealtime review

Join the waiting list!

We have a small number of places available for the Menu and Mealtime Review program.

We received a lot of nominations and our reviews are underway. Feedback from participating services tells us that providers find the review and recommendations helpful. They’ve said they value the expert support.

If your service didn’t take part in the past rounds and would like to join the waiting list, please complete this form.

Joining the waiting list doesn’t guarantee a review of your service. We prioritise services that meet specific characteristics.

The menu and mealtime review program:  

The review isn’t a regulatory activity, and we don’t get a copy of the review report. The report is confidential to the provider, residential service and the assessing dietitian.  

The program runs to 30 June 2026. Find out more on our website.

Clinical update

Clinical Alert for Summer 2025–26 – preventing heat stress in older people

With rising temperatures, summer is a time of higher heat-related risk for older people. For aged care providers and workers, now is the time to prepare for the heat, and take steps to stop heat-related illness.

Heat causes more people to die each year in Australia than any other natural hazard. When heatwaves occur, the death toll routinely reaches into the hundreds.

People over 65 are at highest risk from the heat

Older people’s bodies don’t cope with sudden stresses as quickly or as well as younger people’s bodies. For example, an older person’s skin doesn’t sweat and cool the body down as efficiently as a younger person’s does.

Heat-related illness can get worse very quickly in older people. This can lead to rapid clinical deterioration (a fast decline in their health) and even death. That’s why it’s important to recognise and respond to heat-related illness in older people early and urgently.

Look out for these signs in the older people in your care:

  • a sudden rise in body temperature
  • confusion or altered mental state
  • seizures
  • nausea and vomiting
  • loss of consciousness
  • a weak, rapid pulse.

If you see any of these signs, it’s a medical emergency that requires immediate first aid to cool the person down, and a call to emergency services. 

Heat stress can also make existing health conditions worse. This includes conditions that are common in older people, such as diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease. Many heat deaths are recorded as heart attacks.

Read more about keeping older people in your care safe during hot weather in our full clinical alert.

Infection prevention and control in the festive season

During the summer and festive season, families and friends come together. More people visit residential care homes, and many older people join in family celebrations. These gatherings increase the risk of spreading illness and infections.

It’s important to have infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in place for all at this time of year. 

Small steps make a big difference

  • Talk to older people, families and visitors about what they can do to protect themselves and stop the spread of infection. Simple actions like washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and using personal protective equipment (such as masks), if needed, during gatherings and visits is key to stopping the spread of infection.
  • Vaccinations play an essential role in protecting older people and communities from many serious illnesses. Make sure aged care residents and workers keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination, as cases normally increase over this period.

COVID-19 vaccines are free and recommended:

  • every 6 months for people aged 75 and over
  • every 12 months for people aged 65 to 74
  • every 12 months for adults who are severely immunocompromised.

You can have the COVID-19 vaccine even if you’ve recently had COVID-19.

Providers should also be aware that the Shingles vaccine (2 dose course) is free and recommended for people aged 65 and over. The Pneumococcal vaccine (1 dose) is also free and recommended for people aged 70 and over.

Providers can apply for access to the Australian Immunisation Register. This allows for oversight and accuracy of the vaccination records for the individuals in your care. The provider’s IPC lead worker and pharmacists involved in aged care (particularly aged care onsite pharmacists) can help services with:

  • immunisation screening
  • vaccination clinics
  • making sure residents’ vaccination status are accurately recorded.

Together, we can keep older people safe and healthy so they can enjoy the warmth and connection of the festive season, without unnecessary risk.

Resources

Improving access to vaccination records in aged care

Poor COVID-19 vaccination rates in aged care

COVID-19 vaccine advice and recommendations for 2024

COVID-19 vaccination for aged care residents

‘Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future’ – World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week

Each November World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (18–24 November 2025) highlights ways to address and reduce this global problem.

This year’s theme, ‘Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future’, is a call to action for everyone involved in aged care. As a sector, we need to strengthen our understanding and management of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS).

The main cause of AMR is the overuse and misuse of antimicrobial medicines, especially antibiotics.

AMR happens when bugs that cause infections – such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites – grow stronger defences and stop responding to these important medicines.

Some of the main issues contributing to AMR include:

  • taking, or being prescribed, antibiotics when you don’t need them
  • not finishing a prescribed course of antibiotics
  • using antibiotics incorrectly.

AMR can lead to many people getting very sick from infections that used to be easy to treat. This is particularly true for older people and those with weakened immune systems. It can even lead to serious illness or death.

The most recent Aged Care National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey shows antimicrobial use in residential aged care facilities keeps increasing each year. This is even though overall use of these medicines in the community is going down.

To reduce AMR in aged care we need strong, reliable infection prevention and control processes. This follows the new strengthened Aged Care Quality Standard 5: Clinical care.

To support providers in implementing their AMS systems, the Commission has developed an AMS and quality improvement for aged care leaders’ program which is available on Alis.

Our resources

Antimicrobial stewardship

Infection prevention & control (IPC)

AMSQI short promo video landscape.mp4

Other resources

The Aged Care National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey (acNAPS)

World AMR Awareness Week | Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

Webinars

Questions and answers available – A new chapter for aged care

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has published a Q&A document from the questions submitted before and during the ‘A new chapter for aged care’ webinar on 21 October. The department hosted the webinar along with the Commission and Services Australia.

The webinar provided an update for the sector on what to expect as we transition to the new Aged Care Act, Support at Home program, new regulatory model, and strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. The Q&A session was extensive and included questions on a wide range of topics.

Catch up on our 2025 webinar program

Our program of webinars has now wrapped up for the year. We covered a wide range of topics to support the sector to meet changing obligations and encourage providers to keep improving. You can catch up on any of the 2025 webinars that you missed with recordings on our website and YouTube channel.

We’ll be running a full webinar program again next year, so keep an eye on our webinar page for the 2026 program.

Training and resources

New eLearning module now available to help you with the new Aged Care Act 

The latest module in the Department of Health, Disability and Aged Care’s new Aged Care Act eLearning series is now available.  

This module explains: 

  • the core principles of the new Act
  • how to put the new Act into practice
  • how to support older people’s rights through care that’s inclusive and respectful. 

Focusing on supported decision-making and cultural safety, it also includes practical tools and resources you can share with the older people in your care to help: 

  • promote informed decision-making
  • encourage meaningful dialogue
  • foster a shared understanding of quality care.  

The training is also available through Alis, our online training platform. It’s free for registered providers, associated providers, workers and governing body members. 

To support your learning:  

Online live learning

Our live learning sessions will be available again in 2026. 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.  

Recorded presentations 

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

New resources

First Nations Statement of Rights Information Sheet

Open letter to older people, families and supporters from the Commissioner and Complaints Commissioner

Managing worker risk policy

Fee waiver eligibility form

Evaluated MLA notification form

Digital platform operator notification form

Resources for aged care workers – New Aged Care Act

Joint letter from the Deputy Secretary and the Commissioner to Board Chairs and CEOs of Residential Aged Care Providers on Star Ratings Compliance rating

Public Consultation Report – draft Regulatory Strategy 2025-26

2025-26 Regulatory Strategy

 

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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.