About the Quality Standards
The Aged Care Quality Standards ensure older people have access to safe and quality aged care services.
They set the standard for the level of care older people can expect to receive.
Why we are strengthening the Quality Standards
In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended an urgent review of the Quality Standards and to amend them where appropriate. The recommendations included:
- Recommendation 18: using the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s expertise in clinical and standards development
- Recommendation 19: calling for an urgent review to include specific areas of focus
- Recommendation 20: relating to periodic reviews of the Quality Standards on an ongoing basis
- Recommendation 21: identifying priority issues for review.
The Royal Commission found areas of the Quality Standards that could be improved, including:
- dementia
- diversity
- governance
- food and nutrition
- clinical care.
We led the urgent review, working closely with the:
- Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC)
- Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC).
Read about the consultation to strengthen the Quality Standards.
Final draft strengthened Quality Standards
We used the feedback we heard during public consultation and through the ACQSC’s pilot to develop the final draft strengthened Quality Standards.
The final draft strengthened Quality Standards are:
- Standard 1: The person
- Standard 2: The organisation
- Standard 3: The care and services
- Standard 4: The environment
- Standard 5: Clinical care (ACSQHC set the clinical care components)
- Standard 6: Food and nutrition
- Standard 7: The Residential community.
Read more about the final draft strengthened Quality Standards.
The strengthened Quality Standards are more measurable, detailed and comprehensive than the Quality Standards.
Read more about those differences.
What it means for providers
Government-funded aged care providers must meet the strengthened Quality Standards obligations aligned to the service type they deliver.
Timing
The strengthened Quality Standards will come into effect when the new Aged Care Act and the new aged care regulatory model start.
Related information
Read more about:
- the Aged Care Quality Standards for providers, workers or older people
- the new Aged Care Act
- the new aged care regulatory model
- Star Ratings for residential aged care
- the Support at Home program.
Contact
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)