Management and prevention of incidents
The SIRS sets requirements for providers of aged care services to manage and take reasonable action to prevent incidents. It focuses on older Australians’:
- safety
- health
- wellbeing
- quality of life.
The SIRS started on 1 April 2021 for residential aged care services. From 1 December 2022 the SIRS will also cover aged care services delivered in a home or community setting.
Providers must have an incident management system in place as part of the SIRS requirements. An effective incident management system helps you to:
- identify, manage and resolve incidents that happen during the delivery of care and services to older Australians
- help prevent future incidents.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission administers the SIRS. Providers must use the My Aged Care provider portal to notify the Commission if a reportable incident occurs. The portal administrator for each provider can assign designated staff access to the SIRS dashboard tile.
Guidance on reportable incidents is available on the Commission’s website.
Extending the SIRS to home aged care services
From 1 December 2022 the SIRS also includes home care and flexible care provided in a home or community setting. This extends protections to more than one million older Australians receiving in-home aged care services.
The extension of SIRS to home aged care services follows consultation with stakeholders and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
The final legislation and explanatory statement are available on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Resources to support providers are available on the Commission’s website.
Changes to reporting for unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct
From 3 October 2022, residential aged care providers must report all reportable incidents of unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct as a Priority 1 reportable incident. You must report Priority 1 reportable incidents within 24 hours of becoming aware of the incident.
This change strengthens safeguards for older Australians receiving aged care services. It was created following stakeholder feedback and consultation with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
