The Act sets out obligations for operators of aged care digital platforms.
An aged care digital platform is any app, website or system that supports the delivery of funded or unfunded services in the Australian Government’s aged care system. This mainly refers to websites and apps that connect older people with service providers.
A person or organisation that runs one of these platforms has certain duties and obligations under the Act and the Rules. There may be fines for not carrying out these duties and obligations. Penalties can apply to a person and an organisation.
Obligations for all digital platform operators
All digital platform operators have obligations about who they represent and how they represent them. The operator is responsible for checking and displaying certain information about the organisations on their platform.
Registration
All operators must check and display information about a person or an organisation’s:
- registration status – whether they are a registered provider
- service categories
- current or past banning orders.
Refer to Chapter 6 of the Act or the Guide for more information on banning orders.
Credentials and qualifications
All operators must check organisations have the credentials and qualifications they claim to have. The operator must display this information and explain how they checked it.
Worker screening
Operators have a duty to check that the workers displayed on the platform have been screened in line with the Act. This makes sure that aged care workers made available through their platform have the right experience, skills and training. Operators must show that they have checked workers and the workers meet screening requirements.
Extra obligations for constitutional corporations
Constitutional corporations – which are trading or financial corporations formed in Australia or overseas – that run aged care digital platforms have extra obligations under the Act. Constitutional corporations must also:
- tell the Commissioner:
- that they are operating the platform
- which organisations are on their platform
- make sure the organisations on their platform can provide aged care services
- have systems to manage complaints and incidents – both systems must meet specific requirements
- display the Statement of Rights on their platform in a place that is easy to find
- give quarterly reports to the Commission about:
- complaints
- reportable incidents
- the organisations, workers and older people using the platform
- meet the requirements around record keeping
- when an older person asks, give them their records in a timely manner.
These obligations include specific time limits and other conditions, which are set out in the Act.
Digital platform operator obligations in practice
SilverLink, a digital platform connecting older Australians with registered providers, updated its operations to meet new obligations under the Aged Care Act 2024. SilverLink is also a constitutional corporation, meaning extra obligations apply to them. Steps that SilverLink takes to comply with the Act include:
- checks and displays provider registration status, registration categories and any banning orders that are or have been in place
- checks and publishes provider credentials and explains how they checked these
- checks and displays that listed aged care workers comply with worker screening requirements
- displays a summary and explanation of the complaints management system and the incident management system
- reports quarterly to the Commission on complaints, incidents, and other information about who is using the platform
- displays the Statement of Rights on their site.
These measures help ensure transparency, safety, and accountability in aged care services.
Disclaimer
This publication is not legal advice and must not be used or relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Users must seek their own independent legal advice in relation to their particular circumstances.