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.
To Dip or Not to Dip - Implementation Guide for Nurse and Pharmacist Champions
To Dip or Not to Dip (TDONTD) is a quality improvement intervention successfully implemented in UK and Australian aged care homes to improve UTI assessment and antibiotic prescribing appropriateness.
This implementation guide has been drawn from the experiences of homes and champions who have implemented TDONTD, along with feedback from aged care nurses and personal care assistants who have used TDONTD resources.
Hand Hygiene - Helping others with hand hygiene
Infection prevention and control helps to stop the spread of germs like bacteria and viruses that cause respiratory infections and gastroenteritis. Hand hygiene is a very important part of this.
In this video you will learn how to clean another person's hands.
Your role in infection prevention and control when visiting an aged care service
Infection prevention and control, also known as IPC, are the steps and processes that people can use to reduce the spread of harmful germs and bacteria.
People who visit aged care services can help support IPC processes.
First Nations - Workplace poster - Standard 1 The individual
These workplace standards posters demonstrate the strengthened Standards and what they mean for aged care providers and workers. You can print these out and display them around your workplace.
First Nations – Workplace poster – Standard 2 The organisation
These workplace standards posters demonstrate the strengthened Standards and what they mean for aged care providers and workers. You can print these out and display them around your workplace.
First Nations – Workplace poster – Standard 3 Care and services
These workplace standards posters demonstrate the strengthened Standards and what they mean for aged care providers and workers. You can print these out and display them around your workplace.
First Nations – Workplace poster – Standard 5 Clinical care
These workplace standards posters demonstrate the strengthened Standards and what they mean for aged care providers and workers. You can print these out and display them around your workplace.
Partnerships in care – Partner information package
The partner information pack presents information for all people visiting and volunteering in residential aged care services. The resource includes information on the importance of infection prevention and control (IPC), the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and changes in what you need to do if you visit during an outbreak.
To Dip or Not to Dip in Australian residential aged care services - project findings
This visual abstract presents outcomes from a quality improvement project aimed at reducing low-value urine dipstick testing in aged care services. It included nurse education, implementing clinical pathways for UTI identification, and evaluating urinalysis practices and antibiotic prescribing. The findings demonstrate improved antibiotic prescribing appropriateness for UTIs over a 6-month follow-up period.
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.
To Dip or Not to Dip - huddle tool A3 poster
This huddle tool poster provides guidance on appropriate use of urine dipstick tests in older adults. It explains that asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is common and not harmful, but that unnecessary antibiotic treatment can be. It suggests confirming urinary tract infections (UTIs) through clinical symptoms rather than dipstick results.
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.
Outbreak Management Plan - stress testing outline
Having a comprehensive and organisation-specific outbreak management plan (OMP) helps your organisation to be prepared for the management of infections and outbreaks within your service. A key part of this readiness is ensuring that your OMP is fit-for-purpose and that everyone across the organisation can implement it if required. One way to maintain readiness and support continuous improvement of your OMP is to run regular drills, or stress tests, of your plan.
Making sure your workers can work in aged care
You need to have governance systems and processes to make sure your aged care workers can work in aged care.
This fact sheet explains a provider’s responsibilities for:
- screening workers
- preventing breaches to banning orders.
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.
Supporting the dining experience for people living with dementia – Providers and workers guide
This guide is about how to support people living with dementia to maintain good nutrition and enjoy positive dining experiences.
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.
Regulatory Strategy 2024–25
Our Regulatory Strategy sets out how the Commission will deliver on our goals and commitments. 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.
Outbreak Management Plan - key features
Outbreak management planning is a key part of infection prevention and control. This document supports both the development of a new outbreak management plan (OMP) and the quality assurance of existing plans. It details common OMP sections to get you started as you tailor your OMP to your service.
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.
Explaining aged care and your rights – locally tailorable poster - First Nations resources
We’ve developed a tailorable poster for you to edit with your own local details, and print and display at community notice boards or waiting areas.
First Nations - Visual Storyboard - Aged care and your rights
The storyboards use pictures to explain aged care, your rights and what to do if your rights aren’t being met.
First Nations - Visual information sheet - Your rights when accessing aged care
Provider Governance Policy
Under the new Act, registered providers will need to meet certain governance obligations.
Our Provider Governance Policy outlines our expectations of providers and guiding principles of good governance. It includes:
- definitions and principles of good governance
- provider governance obligations
- how we collect provider governance information
- how we respond to provider governance risks.
Joint letter from CMO and Commissioner to Board Chairs on winter preparedness 2025
Joint letter from the Chief Medical Officer Professor Anthony Lawler and Commissioner Liz Hefren-Webb to Board Chairs, Residential Aged Care Providers on winter preparedness in residential aged care.