Code of Conduct for Aged Care

The new Code of Conduct for Aged Care began on 1 December 2022. It’s designed to help build confidence in the safety and quality of care for older Australians.

Aims of the code

The code provides a set of standards of behaviour for:

  • aged care providers
  • their governing persons
  • aged care workers.

This is to ensure safe, respectful and quality care for older Australians.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will monitor compliance. It has new powers to take enforcement action for breaches of the code. This includes banning or restricting individuals from working in aged care. 

How we developed the code

We developed the code in response to recommendations 77 and 103 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

The code is based on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Code of Conduct

We held public consultation on the preferred model in November and December 2021. The code reflects the outcomes of this.

Learn more about the consultation:

This process led to an exposure draft of the code, which was available for public consultation 4–18 October 2022. We received 35 submissions, with 25 relevant to the code.

In response to feedback, we made changes to the draft legislation to include: 

  • reference to definitions of the terms ‘approved provider’, ‘aged care workers’ and ‘governing persons’
  • a new provision requiring the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to give due regard to the rules of procedural fairness.

View the final code legislation and an explanatory statement on the Federal Register of Legislation. 

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