New aged care regulatory model

Hi, I'm Rob Day from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. In the next few minutes, I'd like to take you through the Aged Care Provider Requirements Search tool. The Requirements Search tool will make it easier for the aged care sector to see the requirements for registered providers under the new Act and Rules from 1 November 2025. As you're all aware, aged care providers directly receiving Commonwealth funds to deliver services will become registered providers on the commencement of the new Aged Care Act. Providers operating across multiple aged care programs will have one set of consolidated requirements according to the registration category or categories in which they are registered.

These requirements are set out in the new Act, and the Aged Care Rules. To help you navigate your requirements from 1 November, we've built an interactive online web search tool that extracts the legislative requirements from the Act and the associated Rules in one place. When we use the term requirements, we mean all the conditions of registration, obligations and duties under the new Act and Rules.

These provider requirements create protections to make sure that aged care in Australia is high quality, continuously improving and safe for older people. The search tool is designed primarily for registered aged care providers or those interested in becoming a registered provider. It can also be used by aged care workers, responsible persons and digital platform operators. It will return a list of requirements based on your response to questions about your role in the aged care sector, registration categories, services you deliver and how you may be funded. Older people, carers, peak bodies and the wider community can also use the search tool to understand the requirements an aged care provider must meet when delivering care. When you land on the home page, I recommend first opening the 'About' and 'How it works' tabs at the top. This information is useful for understanding the structure of the search tool and how it references the legislation.

Then, when you're ready to get started, you can begin by answering the guided questions to generate your tailored list of requirements. Once you've completed the questions, you'll be taken to a results page showing the requirements in line with your responses.

From there, you can filter results by the type of requirement or name of the section of the Act, using the options on the left-hand side of the screen. There are also five topics along the top of the results page, allowing you to sort by theme. To help you understand your results I recommend you have a look at the 'Resources' tab at the top of the page.

This contains many useful documents and web pages outlining key features of the regulatory model. When you're done, you can download your results as a PDF using the 'Export' button. It's important to remember that the search tool does not replace the Act or associated Rules, but rather is a guide to support you navigate them. For full details, always check the Act and Rules.

The search tool also does not provide detail on how to apply to register as an aged care provider. That information can be found on the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's website.

We understand there are a lot of changes coming to aged care this year. The Provider Requirements Search tool will help you to access and navigate your particular registration conditions, obligations and duties that you must meet from the 1st of November. Keep an eye out for our How-to video. We'll explain step by step how to use the search tool and access your results to help you navigate the provider requirements, which will apply to you and the services you deliver.

Thank you for all you are doing in preparation for the new Act, and for putting older people and their needs at the centre of the aged care system. For more information, please see the details on the screen.