Care minutes and 24/7 registered nurses in residential aged care

Care minutes

Read about the minimum care minutes requirement and how to report.

24/7 registered nurses

Read about the requirement for a residential facility to have an RN onsite and on duty at all times and how to report.

24/7 registered nurse supplement

Find out about the supplement to help approved providers employ extra RNs.

Reporting assessments

See how we check the accuracy of the care time information providers send us.

View all care minutes and 24/7 RN information

Linking care minutes to care funding

The Australian Government are making changes to funding for care minutes for nonspecialised services in metropolitan areas (MM1). Services that do not meet their care minutes targets from October 2025 may see their funding reduce from April 2026.

This change will not impact funding for specialised homeless services; services in regional, rural and remote areas or allied health and lifestyle/recreational services.

For more information see Changes coming to care minutes funding.

New audit requirements for Care Minutes Performance Statement

Starting in the 2025-26 Aged Care Financial Report, all residential aged care providers will be required to prepare and submit a new Care Minutes Performance Statement.

Providers must also engage a registered company auditor to complete an audit of their Care Minutes Performance Statement.

To better understand new reporting requirements and how to prepare, refer to the Care Minutes Performance Statement guidance.

Changes under the new Aged Care Act

From 1 November 2025, all co-located services currently operating as a single residential aged care home for the purposes of the 24/7 RN responsibility will become separate homes.

You must ensure there is at least one registered nurse available at each home at all times unless you formally combine them into one home ahead of time.