New aged care regulatory model

Transcript - Statement of Rights and Code of Conduct under the New Aged Care Act

This video is part of a series introducing key features of the regulatory model under the New Age Care Act. This is to help you prepare for the changes coming to aged care from 1st July 2025.

Hi, I'm Rob Day from the Department of Health and Aged Care. In the next few minutes, I'd like to talk to you about the Statement of Rights and Code of Conduct under the new regulatory model. The new Age Care Act will introduce a Statement of Rights, which will replace the current Charter of Rights.

The Statement of Rights outlines the rights of older people when accessing aged care services and is fundamental to the rights- based approach of the new Act as an outcome of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. It gives older people the right to; make their own decisions about their own life, have their decisions not just accepted, but respected, get information and support to help them make decisions, communicate their wishes, needs and preferences, feel safe and respected, have their culture and identity respected and to stay connected with their community.

Upholding the statement of Rights is everyone's responsibility and should change the way we think about how we interact with older people at all points of the aged care system. Under the new Act, providers must have practices in place to ensure they act consistently with the Statement of Rights, provide information to clients about their rights, and implement a complaints feedback mechanism. The complaints and feedback mechanism aims to ensure that providers have responsive complaints processes in place to build greater trust and drive continuous improvement.

You have already been introduced to the strengthened and quality standards, which, along with the Statement of Rights, will ensure aged care services are delivered by workers who have appropriate skills, qualifications and experience. The foundation of the new rights-based approach to the aged care system will improve quality and safety of aged care service delivery for older people, with a focus on person-centered and rights-based care.

The Code of Conduct will continue to apply under the new Aged Care Act. As most of you already know, the code sets out expectations for aged care workers, governing bodies and responsible persons for how they behave and treat people receiving aged care. Having a Code of Conduct ensures that high quality and safe care is provided to older people, building confidence and trust in the aged care system. From 1st July 2025, adhering to the code will become a condition of registration for all aged care providers.

Thank you for all you are doing in preparation for the new regulatory model, and for putting older people and their needs at the centre of the aged care system. Please keep a lookout for the next video in this series.

For more information, please see the details on the screen.