Why is this outcome important?

Outcome 2.2a explains providers’ obligations to make sure their governing body involves workers in the strategic and business planning, and governance of aged care services. This needs to have a focus on continuous improvement.

The governing body must monitor the aged care services you provide through regular reviews. They must actively consider legislative requirements and the wider organisational, operational and workforce risks and needs. This helps you to deliver safe and quality care and services. It includes evaluating:

• how effective your aged care services are
• the safety and wellbeing of workers.

By engaging, listening to and consulting workers and reviewing relevant quality and safety data, the governing body can identify areas for improvement. This is important to make sure your strategic and business planning addresses the needs of workers and older people. Where information relates to workers’ safety, the governing body should communicate relevant information to workers to support their delivery of quality care.

This helps the governing body to lead a positive culture of continuous improvement and quality care and services that are accessible and appropriate.

You need to give focus to:

• strategic and business planning.

All providers delivering aged care services in a residential care home or home or community setting are expected to regularly report to their governing body and work together to support workers to deliver quality care and services. However, the way providers delivering aged care services in a home or community setting work with their governing body to assess performance and drive continuous improvement within their workforce may differ from aged care services delivered in a residential care home. This is because organisational governance can be more complex in home or community settings. For example, where organisations:

• sub-contract some or all of the services delivered
• have a high proportion of workers that are sub-contractors

A lack of direct oversight where services are subcontracted means that providers and their governing body may be less able to directly support workers to identify deficiencies in care and continuously improve their practice.

To lead a positive culture of quality care and services, governing bodies of organisations delivering aged care services in a home or community setting may embed a culture of self-assurance where the provider can independently and critically assess their performance on an ongoing basis. This can support workers to deliver quality care by making sure they can:

• meet their obligations
• appropriately address identified risks, incidents, emergencies and disasters
• proactively identify areas for improvement in ways that value their diversity, leverage their expertise, and prioritise their safety and wellbeing.