Who this applies to
You must be an approved aged care provider if your organisation delivers any of the following:
- Support at Home services (home-based aged care, from 1 July 2025)
- Residential aged care
- Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) services
- Short-Term Restorative Care (now delivered under Support at Home)
NDIS-only providers: Organisations that hold NDIS provider registration but do not deliver aged care-funded services do not need aged care provider approval. If your organisation delivers services to NDIS participants only, the Aged Care Act does not apply. If you plan to expand into aged care funding streams, you will need separate approval from the ACQSC.
The approval process
Applications are submitted via the My Aged Care Service Provider Portal to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. The ACQSC assesses the application and makes a decision on approval. Approval must be granted before an organisation can deliver funded services.
The assessment considers four main areas:
Governance
Board structure, leadership accountability, and the organisation's capacity to meet obligations under the Aged Care Act 2024. The Commission will assess whether your governance arrangements are appropriate for the size and complexity of services you intend to deliver.
Financial viability
Evidence that the organisation is financially viable and has the resources to deliver services consistently. This typically includes financial statements, projections, and evidence of funding or reserves.
Workforce capability
Demonstrated capacity to employ and manage a workforce that can deliver the services you are applying to provide. For clinical care services, this includes evidence of clinical governance arrangements.
Systems to meet quality standards
Evidence of policies, procedures, and systems sufficient to meet the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards from the date services commence. The Commission does not expect perfection on day one, but it does expect a credible plan.
Allow time for the process. ACQSC approval is not immediate. Build adequate lead time into your planning before you expect to start delivering services. Do not make commitments to prospective clients or employees before approval is granted.
Quality standards you must meet
The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards commenced on 1 July 2025. There are 7 standards. All approved providers must meet all standards that apply to their service type.
| Standard | Title |
|---|---|
| Standard 1 | The person |
| Standard 2 | The organisation's governance |
| Standard 3 | Care and services |
| Standard 4 | The environment |
| Standard 5 | Organisation's workforce |
| Standard 6 | Feedback and complaints |
| Standard 7 | Safe and supported environment |
Standard 5: Organisation's Workforce
Standard 5 is the most directly relevant to rostering and workforce management. It requires providers to have a capable, qualified, and well-managed workforce; to ensure workers have the skills, knowledge, and experience for their role; and to have systems for ongoing worker assessment, support, and performance management. In practice, this means your rostering and HR systems need to surface worker qualification status, screening currency, and any gaps in real time.
Worker screening requirements
Aged care workers must hold a current National Police Check. This is the primary screening requirement under the aged care framework.
This is not the same as an NDIS Worker Screening Check. The NDIS Worker Screening Check is a separate credential required for workers delivering NDIS-funded services. Aged care workers who deliver only aged care services do not need an NDIS Worker Screening Check. Requiring it is unnecessary.
For workers who deliver services in both sectors (i.e., on some shifts they deliver NDIS-funded support, and on others they deliver Support at Home services), both credentials are required. The National Police Check satisfies the aged care requirement; the NDIS Worker Screening Check satisfies the NDIS requirement.
Police checks have validity periods. Your organisation must track renewal dates and ensure no worker is rostered for aged care services with a lapsed check. See the worker screening guide for full detail on renewal requirements and management.
SIRS obligations from day one
From the day you become an approved provider, you are subject to the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS). There is no grace period. SIRS applies to both residential aged care and home care (including Support at Home).
| Priority | Reporting timeframe |
|---|---|
| Priority 1 | Within 24 hours |
| Priority 2 | Within 30 days |
SIRS is administered by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Reports are made via the My Aged Care portal. For rostering purposes, the key implication is that every incident must be traceable to a shift. If an incident occurs during a shift and your shift records are incomplete or inaccessible, the SIRS report will be harder to file accurately and on time.
See the SIRS incident reporting guide for full detail on incident categories, reporting obligations, and how to structure your incident management process.
What your rostering and record-keeping systems need to do
The following practical requirements flow directly from your obligations as an approved provider under the Aged Care Act 2024, the Strengthened Quality Standards, and SIRS. Each one has a direct implication for how your systems need to be configured from the day you start delivering services.
Record shifts against the correct service group
Support at Home billing requires each service delivered to be classified against one of the 8 service groups. A shift record that notes only time-in and time-out is insufficient. Your system needs to capture what type of service was delivered so the correct service group can be applied to the claim.
Track worker police check renewal dates
Aged care workers must hold a current National Police Check. Police checks have validity periods, and a worker who allows their check to lapse cannot be rostered for aged care services. Your system should surface expiry dates before they lapse, not after.
Link incidents to the shift during which they occurred
SIRS requires you to report serious incidents. An incident report that cannot be traced to a specific shift creates an audit trail gap. Shift records and incident records need to be connected in your system, not held in separate spreadsheets.
Document continuity of care
Standard 1 (The person) and Standard 3 (Care and services) place explicit weight on knowing the person and supporting consistent relationships. Rostering systems that surface worker-client history make it easier to demonstrate person-centred rostering in an assessment.
Maintain qualification records for clinical workers
If you deliver clinical care services (nursing, allied health), worker qualification records must be current and accessible. For residential care providers, the 24/7 registered nurse requirement means RN credential tracking is a daily operational necessity.
Generate reports for audit and assessment purposes
The ACQSC can conduct unannounced assessments. Being able to produce a complete shift history, incident register, and worker compliance summary at short notice is a practical requirement, not just a theoretical one.