Aged care in Australia is changing for the better.
The new Aged Care Act is making aged care safer, fairer, and more respectful for older people, as well as all of us who work in aged care.
We know older people really value the work we do, and under the new Act, there are five important changes that you should be aware of when working in aged care.
Under the new Act, the Statement of Rights and Statement of Principles recognise the valuable role workers play in aged care.
The Statement of Rights emphasises the right of older people to make their own decisions about their lives.
That you must treat older people with dignity and respect.
That you have the appropriate qualifications, skills, and experience to provide care and services that respect the rights and decisions of older people.
Under the Statement of Principles, the aged care system will support you to be innovative, continuously improve, deliver high quality care, and participate in governance and deliver accountability requirements.
Under the new Act, your expertise and feedback on quality aged care delivery will be recognised.
The strengthened Quality Standards will create an expectation that your employer will listen to your views.
You will have the power to provide feedback or make complaints without fear of retribution.
You will also need to continue to follow the Aged Care Code of Conduct.
This helps ensure that older people can have confidence and trust in the quality and safety of the aged care services they receive.
A more robust worker screening check will be introduced soon.
This will make sure you are suitable to work in aged care.
In the meantime, some minor changes to worker screening will start with the new Act.
These changes mostly impact people working for Commonwealth Home Support Program providers.
There are two aged care workers screening options.
You will need either a police certificate that is not older than three years and does not record certain offences or a National Disability Insurance Scheme, NDIS Worker Check.
In the future, a new aged care worker screening check will align with the NDIS Worker Check.
This, however, won't happen before 2026.
The new screening check will be recognised in the NDIS and aged care sectors.
We will let you know about the new arrangements when they are finalised.
You are a key part of delivering quality aged care services.
The strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards means your employer is expected to create a culture of quality, safety, and inclusion.
Your employer must encourage and support you to make complaints and give feedback about improving the delivery of aged care services.
Feedback is an important way to understand what is working well and to identify areas that can be improved.
You should feel confident to voice your concerns without fear of unfair treatment.
Whether that's to your employer or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
You are also required to support older people in your care to feel welcome to share feedback, raise concerns, or make a complaint.
People who call out issues, including aged care workers will be protected to make a whistleblower disclosure.
This means you can make a report if you think someone hasn't followed aged care laws and you'll be protected from punishment.
You can make a report in person, by phone, or in writing to: the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, a registered aged care provider or a responsible person of a registered provider, another aged care worker of a registered provider, a police officer, or an independent aged care advocate.
A report can be made about a person or organisation who has not followed the aged care laws.
Reports can be made anonymously.
Your identity or identifying information will be protected.
As you can see, there are some big changes in aged care to make it easier for workers to deliver high quality care to older people in Australia.
To complete training and learn more about the new Act and what it means for you, visit Health.gov.au.