What is quality in aged care?
Aged care services aim to improve the quality of life of the people receiving care.
To help make sure this happens, providers of Australian Government-funded aged care must meet the Aged Care Quality Standards.
The Aged Care Quality Standards
The Aged Care Quality Standards apply to all Australian Government-funded aged care services.
Providers of these services must meet standards in:
- consumer dignity and choice
- ongoing assessment and planning with consumers
- personal care and clinical care
- services and supports for daily living
- service environment
- feedback and complaints
- human resources
- organisational governance.
The Charter of Aged Care Rights
Quality in aged care is a right. Under the Charter of Aged Care Rights, you are entitled to safe and high quality care and services.
Resources
- Charter of Aged Care Rights Booklet helps you understand your rights and how to exercise them
- Charter of Aged Care Rights videos, webinars and other resources
How is quality assessed?
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission assesses the quality of Australian Government-funded aged care against the Aged Care Quality Standards.
The Commission checks compliance with standards through assessment and monitoring processes such as:
- visits to the aged care service (aged care homes have at least one unannounced visit each year)
- self-assessment by providers
- feedback from care recipients
- reviewing providers’ plans for continuous improvement
- reporting on the service’s performance against the standards and publishing consumer experience reports.
More information on the assessment and monitoring processes is on the Commission’s website.
What are quality indicators?
The National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program is for government-funded residential aged care services.
From 1 July 2019, all Australian Government-funded residential aged care providers must report to the Department of Health on 3 quality indicators:
- pressure injuries
- the use of physical restraint
- unplanned weight loss.
From 1 January 2020, the Commission will have responsibility for managing approved providers non-compliance with the standards, including issuing sanctions.
Go to the non-compliance checker for further information on providers with compliance issues.
How can you check the quality of care?
There are tools available to help you check the quality of Australian Government-funded aged care providers. You can:
- find accreditation and consumer experience reports for government-funded aged care homes
- use the provider finder to see if a provider is non-compliant
- use the non-compliance checker to find out if a provider is non-compliant (now or in the past).
- ask providers about the quality of their care.
If you’re unhappy with the quality of care
Do you have concerns about the quality of care for you or your loved one?
If you don’t feel comfortable talking to the provider (or you have tried and it didn’t work), you can:
- contact an advocacy service
- make a complaint about aged care services.