The Quality Standards Resource Centre helps extend understanding of the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, which take effect from 1 November 2025. The Resource Centre will be updated to reflect key changes made to the draft strengthened Standards. You can search for resources by using keywords, or filtering by standard, outcome, audience and theme. Before using the Resource Centre, please read the terms of use.
Recognising Signs of Deterioration in a Person’s Mental State
This resource provides a framework for recognising signs of mental state deterioration, organised into 5 key indicators: reported change, distress, loss of reality, loss of function, and elevated risk. It supports healthcare providers in monitoring mental health changes to enable timely and effective responses across care settings. This resource may apply to healthcare contexts outside of aged care. Please consider the applicability of this resource to your care setting.
National Consensus Statement: Essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care
This resource outlines the National Consensus Statement on essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care in Australia. It provides guiding principles, care processes, and organisational processes, focusing on person-centred communication, multidisciplinary collaboration, and culturally appropriate care. The statement is designed for healthcare workers, service executives, and policy makers to enhance end-of-life care delivery.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Clinical Care Standard
This Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care clinical care standards provides guidelines for managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to reduce hospitalisations and improve outcomes. It includes quality statements, care indicators, and palliative care considerations to support best practices and enhance the quality of life for people with COPD. This resource may apply to healthcare contexts outside of aged care.
Advance care planning - Information for health service organisations
This resource outlines how health service organisations can support advance care planning within the Comprehensive Care Standard (National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards). It highlights the importance of documenting a patient’s preferences for future care and ensuring systems are in place to act on these plans. It also provides actions related to policies, sharing decisions, comprehensive care, and clinical handover.
Advance care planning - Information for clinicians
This resource guides clinicians on the importance of advance care planning, particularly for those with life-limiting illnesses, chronic conditions, or cognitive impairment. It outlines the need for early conversations about patient preferences and comprehensive care, ensuring decisions are documented, shared, and align with clinical handover processes to respect patient autonomy and improve care outcomes.
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.
End-of-life care - Last days of life
This resource provides guidance on end-of-life care during the last days of life, relevant for aged care settings. It focuses on maintaining comfort, managing symptoms, and reducing unnecessary interventions. Clinicians are supported in offering compassionate care, addressing potential emergencies, and involving family members while ensuring that older people are treated with dignity during their final days.
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.
End-of-life care - clinical basics
This resource provides key actions for clinicians delivering end-of-life care. It highlights the shift from curative to palliative approaches, emphasising communication, patient dignity, symptom management, medication review, and decision-making. It includes strategies for managing common symptoms and minimising risks to ensure safe, high-quality care in the last days of life.
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.
Falls prevention
This resource provides guidance for preventing falls and harm from falls in older people in 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.
Delivering and supporting comprehensive end-of-life care user guide
This guide provides practical strategies for health service organisations and clinicians to deliver comprehensive end-of-life care. It aligns with the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, focusing on patient-centred communication, care components, triggers for recognising end-of-life, and organisational support through leadership, education, and evaluation.
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.
Oral health care for adult patients - Recommendations
This resource provides recommendations for oral health care in adult inpatients, focusing on preventing issues like aspiration pneumonia, infections, and malnutrition. It emphasises regular oral assessments and evidence-based care practices. Its principles are applicable in aged care settings to enhance overall 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.
National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards
These standards outline frameworks to ensure the safety and quality of digital mental health services in Australia. It includes standards for clinical and technical governance, partnering with consumers, and delivering a safe model of care. The standards aim to improve service quality, protect users, and establish guidelines for best practices across digital platforms.
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.
NSQHS Standards - Preventing pressure injuries and wound management
This resource provides guidance for organisations developing policies, procedures and protocols for preventing, screening, assessing, treating, monitoring and documenting pressure injuries. The fact sheet also provides a pressure injury flowchart for adult hospital admissions.
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.
Falls Guidelines for Community Care
The Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Community Care in Australia (Falls Guidelines for Community Care) has been developed for use by health professionals, primary care providers, the aged care workforce and other community care staff.
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.
Preventing falls in residential aged care services - Fact sheet
This fact sheet supports the Falls Guidelines for Australian Residential Aged Care Services. It includes recommendations from the falls guidelines about multifaceted interventions, exercise, hip protectors, dairy food provision, vitamin D supplements, and osteoporosis medicines.
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.
Preventing falls in community care - Fact sheet
This fact sheet supports the Falls Guidelines for Community Care. It includes recommendations from the falls guidelines including exercise to prevent falls, home safety interventions, multi component interventions, and single interventions for specific risk factors.
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.
Falls Guidelines for Australian Residential Aged Care Services
The Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Residential Aged Care Services has been developed for use by health professionals and the aged care workforce.
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.
NSQMHCMO Standards Guide for Service Providers
This guide helps service providers implement the National Safety and Quality Mental Health Standards for Community Managed Organisations. It covers governance, care models, and quality systems. While focused on mental health services, elements like governance and quality may be relevant to 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.