The 7 standards
All approved aged care providers must meet all standards that apply to their service type. Standards 4 and 7 apply to residential aged care only. All other standards apply to both residential and home care.
| 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 |
The Strengthened Standards replaced the previous 8-standard framework that had been in place since 2019. The new framework is organised around the rights of older people rather than provider processes, which changes how assessment evidence needs to be structured.
Standard 5 in depth: Organisation's Workforce
Standard 5 is the standard with the most direct operational implications for care providers managing a workforce. It requires providers to demonstrate that their workforce is:
Appropriately qualified
Workers must hold the qualifications and credentials required for the work they perform. This is not a passive requirement -- it means actively verifying and recording credential currency, not just collecting documents at onboarding.
Adequately supervised
Workers must receive supervision appropriate to their role and experience level. Supervision arrangements must be documented. This is particularly relevant for newer workers and those delivering clinical support.
Supported to develop
Providers must support workers to develop their skills and knowledge. This typically means a documented approach to training and professional development, with records of what was provided to whom.
Sufficient in number
The workforce must be sufficient in number to deliver the services being provided. For rostering, this means gaps in coverage need to be identified and managed. An understaffed roster is not just an operational problem -- it is a quality standards issue.
What this means for your rostering system
Standard 5 compliance requires that worker qualification status, screening currency, and coverage gaps are visible in real time. Rostering systems that do not surface this information make Standard 5 compliance harder to demonstrate and harder to maintain.
24/7 registered nurse requirement (residential care)
Residential aged care facilities must have a registered nurse on duty at all times. This requirement flows from the Aged Care Act 2024 and Standard 5. It does not apply to home care providers.
For residential rostering, RN coverage is a non-negotiable constraint. A roster that creates a gap in RN coverage is non-compliant regardless of how well it otherwise meets service delivery requirements.
Rostering implication: When building residential rosters, RN coverage must be verified before the roster is finalised. Gaps created by leave, sick calls, or short notice cancellations require immediate replacement with a qualified RN, not a downgrade to enrolled nurse or personal care worker coverage.
Home care: The 24/7 RN requirement does not apply to Support at Home or other home-based programs. However, if a home care worker is delivering clinical services (nursing, wound care, medication administration), the worker must hold the appropriate clinical qualifications and these must be tracked under Standard 5.
What documentation the standards require
Across Standards 1, 2, 3, and 5, providers must be able to produce the following documentation in the event of an unannounced ACQSC assessment:
- 1Worker qualification records (certificates, credentials, licences)
- 2Screening compliance records (National Police Check currency)
- 3Supervision logs (for clinical and direct care workers)
- 4Shift and attendance records (staffing ratios evidence)
- 5Continuity of care history (worker-client assignment patterns)
- 6Training and development records
- 7Incident records linked to the relevant shift
- 8Worker performance management records
The ACQSC conducts both announced and unannounced assessments. Being able to produce any of the above within a short timeframe is a practical necessity. Documentation held in multiple systems, or worse in paper files, creates retrieval risk under assessment conditions.
Standard 1 and continuity of care
Standard 1 (The person) places explicit weight on person-centred care. In practice, this includes an expectation that providers support continuity in worker-client relationships where possible. Sending a different worker to every shift is not, on its own, a standards breach -- but a roster that shows no consideration of client preferences or established relationships will draw questions in an assessment.
Rostering systems that surface client-worker history and can flag preferred workers for a client make it easier to demonstrate Standard 1 compliance in practice, not just on paper.