Teiro

Checklist and template

SIRS notification checklist and report template

A practical checklist of exactly what a SIRS notification needs before you lodge it with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Work down it the night before a deadline, or use it to build your own template. It is guidance, not a determination or legal advice.

This is guidance, not a determination or legal advice. Whether an incident is reportable under SIRS, and at what priority, is a judgement your organisation's nominated delegate must confirm. SIRS rules change: always verify current requirements against current ACQSC guidance and your own SIRS policy before you act. When you are genuinely unsure, the safer default most quality consultants recommend is to report.

Get a copy for your records

The full checklist is on this page. Leave your email and we will send you a copy and a heads-up when the ACQSC guidance changes. No spam, and you can print the checklist straight away below.

Before you start: confirm the basics

  • Someone with delegated authority has reviewed the incident and agreed it is SIRS-reportable
  • The reportable incident category has been identified (see the eight categories below)
  • The priority has been assessed: Priority 1 (24 hours) or Priority 2 (30 calendar days)
  • The exact date and time the organisation became aware of the incident is recorded (not the time the incident occurred, if different)
  • If the incident was disclosed after the fact (a historical disclosure), the awareness clock has been set from the disclosure, not the original event

The eight reportable incident categories

  • Unreasonable use of force
  • Unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct
  • Psychological or emotional abuse
  • Unexpected death
  • Stealing or financial coercion by a staff member
  • Neglect
  • Inappropriate use of restrictive practices
  • Unexplained absence from care (reported, or that reasonably should be reported, to police)

Unexpected death, and unexplained absence reported to police, are always Priority 1, regardless of how severe the individual case seems. The whole sexual-conduct category (unlawful sexual contact and inappropriate sexual conduct) is also always Priority 1.

What your notification needs to contain

  • Consumer details (the person affected by the incident)
  • Date, time and location the incident occurred
  • Date and time the organisation became aware of the incident
  • A factual description of what happened: observed facts, not conclusions or diagnoses
  • Names and roles of staff involved or who responded
  • Immediate actions taken (first aid, medical review, police contact, family or representative notification)
  • Whether police have been, or will be, notified
  • Whether the incident has been reported under any other scheme (for example NDIS, if dual-registered)
  • Planned or completed follow-up actions (investigation, changed procedures, additional training, restrictive practice review)
  • Name and role of the person lodging the notification

Before you lodge

  • The notification has been reviewed by your nominated delegate or quality manager
  • Language is factual and free of speculation: report what happened and what you did, not what you assume caused it
  • The consumer (or their representative) has been informed, where appropriate and consistent with your open disclosure policy
  • You have a copy of everything you are submitting, for your own incident register
  • If the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, someone is confirmed as available to lodge on time: the deadline itself does not move

After you lodge

  • The incident stays open in your system until every follow-up action is actually completed, not just until the notification is sent
  • Any further information the Commission requests is tracked against the same deadline discipline as the original notification
  • The incident and its outcome are reviewed at your next quality or clinical governance meeting

Do not confuse this with your day-to-day incident register

SIRS-reportable incidents are a subset of all incidents. Standard 2 (The Organisation), the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standard that covers your incident management system, requires your organisation to record every incident, not just the eight reportable categories. An incident that does not meet the SIRS threshold still needs to be logged in your own system.

Is this reportable? Decision toolWork out the exact deadlinePriority 1 vs Priority 2Back to the SIRS guide

Primary source

This page is based on guidance published by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) under the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025, in force from 1 November 2025.

How Teiro helps

The record already exists by the time the clock is running

Teiro captures the incident at the point of care, timestamps the moment your team became aware of it, surfaces the classification question to your reviewer with the facts already attached, tracks the deadline once a priority is assigned, and produces the record you need to lodge your SIRS notification. The decision about whether something is reportable, and at what priority, stays with your organisation's delegate. Teiro makes sure that decision gets made in time, by the right person, with the facts already in front of them.

Teiro does not determine reportability, and does not submit notifications to the ACQSC or the NDIS Commission on your behalf. It produces the record your delegate needs to make the call and lodge it.

Get StartedBook a demo

Running a small team? Free for under 5 users - no credit card, no time limit.