Quality Standards Resource Centre

This resource describes the ISBAR communication tool—Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation—used to improve safety during handovers in clinical settings. It includes adaptable resources like fact sheets and lanyard cards to support consistent, structured information transfer.

This resource was developed by a state/territory government or organisation and therefore its applicability and usefulness may be limited.

This guide focuses on collaboration and multidisciplinary care for older adults, particularly in residential aged care. It outlines the benefits of team-based care, effective team structures, shared goals, defined roles, building trust, communication, and measurable processes to improve health outcomes. It provides practical tips for effective teamwork and highlights the importance of coordinating care among various healthcare professionals.

This resource explains the Healthcare Provider Directory (HPD), a service listing registered health care providers and organisations in the Healthcare Identifiers (HI) Service. It enables health professionals to access contact and specialty information for secure messaging, referrals, and discharge summaries.

This resource explains the purpose of a goals of care document, which outlines a person’s medical treatment goals and end of life care preferences. It describes how healthcare providers create and upload these documents to health records, supporting informed decision-making and access to care preferences.

This resource guides providers in identifying and setting goals of care with patients through shared decision-making. It fosters collaboration between patients, family, and healthcare teams to clarify expectations and establish personalised clinical and personal care objectives.

This resource may apply to healthcare contexts outside of aged care. Please consider the applicability of this resource to your care setting. This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This resource focuses on structured clinical handover processes to improve communication during patient care transitions. It highlights the importance of standardising handover procedures to make sure relevant information is effectively communicated, reducing errors and enhancing patient safety, especially during care transfers in healthcare settings, including aged care. 

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This resource provides tools and guidance on improving clinical communication to enhance patient safety. It focuses on key communication touchpoints, such as handovers, decision-making, and care transitions. Designed to support healthcare providers, it offers practical strategies to reduce errors and improve outcomes in aged care and other healthcare settings. 

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This document explains the Healthcare Identifier Service, a national system for assigning unique healthcare identifiers to individuals, providers, and healthcare organisations. The service aims to improve patient safety, ensure accurate records, and facilitate secure data sharing across health, aged care, and allied health services. It includes privacy measures and public consultation outcomes for potential legislative improvements. 

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This consensus statement outlines essential elements for recognising and responding to acute physiological deterioration in healthcare settings. It covers clinical processes like vital signs monitoring, diagnosis, and rapid response systems, as well as organisational aspects such as leadership, education, and evaluation. It provides generic information that can be applied to the aged care setting.

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This resource outlines the second edition of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards. It aims to protect people from harm and improve healthcare quality. The 8 standards cover areas like clinical governance, infection control, and medication safety, supporting aged care providers in meeting safety and quality expectations. 

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This framework provides a consistent national approach to clinical governance in healthcare, focusing on governance structures, leadership, culture, safety and quality improvement systems, clinical performance, care environment, and consumer partnerships. It supports healthcare organisations in developing systems to ensure accountability, safety, quality of care, and continuous improvement, following the NSQHS Standards. 

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 November 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.

This resource discusses clinical governance in aged care, highlighting its importance in delivering safe, high-quality care. It includes evidence-based resources, themes on governance like leadership, culture, consumer partnerships, and workforce strategies, and provides access to research projects, reviews, and practical guidance to support care quality improvements.

This resource provides information about the regulation of allied health professions in Australia. It includes those registered under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) and self-regulating professions managed by professional peak bodies. It also provides links to further information about allied health professions currently registered with AHPRA and information for overseas-qualified practitioners.

This resource discusses the role of speech pathologists in supporting older people with communication and swallowing disorders caused by ageing, neurological conditions, and other health factors. It highlights the prevalence of communication and swallowing difficulties in aged care, their impacts, and how speech pathology services promote independence, participation, and quality of life through assessment, therapy, and tailored interventions.

This resource provides guidelines for managing patients with multimorbidity in aged care settings. It includes frameworks for assessing treatment burden, identifying patients at risk, and developing individualised care plans. It recommends validated tools for screening, a focus on quality of life, and strategies for medication review and care coordination.

This guide outlines the challenges of diagnosing and managing geriatric syndromes, describing clusters like immobility, instability, incontinence, frailty, sarcopenia, and cognitive impairment. It introduces the 'Geriatric 5Ms' framework: Mind, Mobility, Medications, Mult complexity, and Matters Most, which assists in comprehensive assessment and care planning for older adults, focusing on mental health, physical function, medication review, complex health needs, and care goals.

This guide details the provision of after-hours care for older adults in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and the community. It covers collaborative agreements between GPs and RACFs, processes to reduce emergency department visits, hospital avoidance strategies, and the importance of coordinating multidisciplinary care. It also addresses infrastructure needs, support staff availability, and funding arrangements to ensure quality care during after-hours periods.

This guide discusses strategies for supporting independent living in older adults, covering concepts of healthy ageing, using aged care services, respite care, and re-aligning function. It highlights the role of general practitioners in promoting autonomy, addressing individual needs, and avoiding ageist language while facilitating access to community or residential care services.

This guide discusses managing multimorbidity, which involves the presence of multiple chronic diseases and their impact on older adults' quality of life and independence. It outlines the role of general practitioners in care coordination, shared decision-making, and holistic care approaches, considering the benefits and risks of interventions across residential and community care settings.

This resource provides guidance for aged care assessors and service providers on accessing and using the My Aged Care portals. It outlines steps for setting up secure access through authentication methods, managing organisation information, and creating staff accounts, supporting efficient service delivery and assessment processes. 

This resource may refer to information that will be updated from 1 July 2025 to align with the new Aged Care Act and Quality Standards.