What to do if you have a concern

If something about your aged care worries you, or just doesn’t feel right, it’s important to speak up. It’s safe to speak up, and it can improve the quality of care for everyone. A provider, worker or responsible person can’t punish you or treat you differently for raising a concern.

If you have a concern about your aged care, you can speak with:

your provider - this is often the easiest and quickest way to resolve things
an aged care worker or responsible person. A ‘responsible person’ is a person who is responsible for or has significant influence over the services delivered by a provider such as a service or facility manager.
the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

You can also choose to have a family member or supporter raise a concern on your behalf.

Advocacy support

You can also contact the following support services for advocacy support and help:

OPAN

Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN). If you require information or support with government-funded aged care services, OPAN’s Aged Care Advocacy Line can provide free, confidential, and independent support.

You can speak with an advocate by calling 1800 700 600 or visit opan.org.au.

The Elder Care Support Program

The Elder Care Support program is designed to support older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families to understand, navigate and access the aged care services they are entitled to.

This program is delivered by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). You can call 02 6246 9300 for more information. More information is available at www.naccho.org.au/elder-caresupport-program

Tips for raising a concern

When you have a concern or are thinking about making a complaint there are some things we recommend you do. These include:

Write down your concerns

Writing down your concerns or talking them through with someone you trust can help you put the information together in a logical way. This makes it easier for us – or the provider, worker or responsible person – to understand what’s happened. It also gives you a written record of your concerns.

Focus on facts

Feeling upset, angry or frustrated about things that affect you or your loved one is understandable. If you’re an aged care worker or a health professional, you might feel concerned about the safety and wellbeing of older people. However, to help us and the provider, worker or responsible person assess your concern, it’s best to stick to the facts when you describe what happened.

Include important information

Try to include as many details as you can, as soon as you can. For example, names, dates and locations. This helps us to address the concern more quickly.

Be clear about what you want

If you’re making a complaint, think about what you want to happen as a result. The outcome you want should be reasonable, achievable and in the best interests of the older person involved.

For example, you might want:

an apology
an explanation of what happened
evidence of the provider using safer practices
a plan from the provider to prevent the problem happening again.

Ask for help

Raising a concern can feel overwhelming or confronting. You can ask a friend, family member or supporter to help you raise your concern. You can find out more about your options for support on our Supporters webpage.

You can also have an advocate for support. An advocate can:

help you make decisions that affect your quality of life
explain your rights and responsibilities
discuss the actions you can take
support you when you raise a concern with us or a provider
help you at any stage of the process.

If you’d like to contact the Commission to talk about your concern, you can:

phone us on 1800 951 822 (free call)
contact us online via agedcarequality.gov.au/contact-us/complaints-feedback/make-complaint
write to us at Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
GPO Box 9819, in your capital city.

Find an interpreter

If you need an interpreter, call us on 1800 951 822 and ask us to arrange one.

You can also call one of these services and ask them to call us for you:

We also have a Translated information for people receiving aged care flyer. This explains in multiple languages who to contact if you need an interpreter.