How to use this quiz for staff training
- Run it in a team meeting. Read each question aloud, let people vote, then read the explanation.
- Pay attention to the questions people split on. The common gaps are the treatment test for Priority 1, that the clock starts at awareness, and that suspected incidents are reportable.
- Pair it with your own SIRS policy and your delegate. The quiz teaches the scheme; your policy says who in your organisation decides and who lodges.
- Workers who see something should tell a coordinator straight away. The 24 hour clock starts when the provider becomes aware.
All 15 questions with answers
The full answer key, for trainers who want to print the page or check a question before a session.
1. Which of the following can only be submitted as a Priority 1 incident?
- Neglect that involved a run of missed scheduled visits with no injury
- Psychological or emotional abuse where a client was upset but needed no treatment
- Inappropriate sexual conduct inflicted on an older person
- Rough handling during a transfer, unhurt, nothing suggests a crime
Answer: Inappropriate sexual conduct inflicted on an older person. Any reportable incident involving unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct inflicted on an older person is Priority 1. The other three can be Priority 1 or Priority 2 depending on what they caused and whether there are reasonable grounds to report them to police. In these scenarios nothing meets a Priority 1 criterion, so they are Priority 2.
2. How soon must a Priority 1 reportable incident be notified to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission?
- Within 24 hours of the provider becoming aware of it
- Within 48 hours of the incident happening
- Within 5 business days of the provider becoming aware of it
- By the end of the following month
Answer: Within 24 hours of the provider becoming aware of it. A Priority 1 incident must be reported within 24 hours of becoming aware of it. The clock runs from awareness, not from when the incident happened.
3. What is the timeframe for reporting a Priority 2 reportable incident?
- 30 business days from the incident
- 30 calendar days from becoming aware of it
- 14 days from becoming aware of it
- Within 7 days of your next quality audit
Answer: 30 calendar days from becoming aware of it. A Priority 2 incident must be reported within 30 calendar days of becoming aware of it. That is calendar days, so weekends and public holidays count.
4. Which of these reportable incident types can never be Priority 2 once it is reportable?
- Neglect
- Psychological or emotional abuse
- Unexpected death resulting from care services delivered, or not delivered, by the provider
- Inappropriate use of a restrictive practice
Answer: Unexpected death resulting from care services delivered, or not delivered, by the provider. An unexpected death resulting from care services (or a failure to deliver them) is a Priority 1 criterion in its own right. Neglect, psychological or emotional abuse and restrictive practices are Priority 1 only if they cause injury or discomfort needing treatment, or there are reasonable grounds to report them to police. Otherwise they are Priority 2.
5. A worker uses more force than needed during a transfer. The client is bruised, a neighbour puts an ice pack on it, and no one else treats it. Nothing suggests a crime. Which priority is this most likely to be?
- Priority 1, because any injury is Priority 1
- Priority 1, because it was a worker who caused it
- Priority 2, because it is reportable but no Priority 1 criterion is met
- Not reportable, because the injury was minor
Answer: Priority 2, because it is reportable but no Priority 1 criterion is met. Unreasonable use of force is reportable. Treatment that anyone can provide, like an ice pack, does not by itself make an incident Priority 1. With no practitioner-level treatment and no reasonable grounds to report to police, it is Priority 2 and is reported within 30 calendar days.
6. The same transfer incident, but the client is taken to their GP, who diagnoses a fracture. Which priority is this?
- Priority 1, because the incident has caused injury that needs medical treatment
- Priority 2, because the worker did not mean to hurt the client
- Priority 2, because the GP is not part of the provider
- It depends on the worker’s intent
Answer: Priority 1, because the incident has caused injury that needs medical treatment. An incident that has caused physical injury needing treatment from a medical practitioner is Priority 1. The worker’s intent does not change that. Report it within 24 hours of becoming aware.
7. On Monday a client mentions to their coordinator that a worker took money from them three weeks ago. When does the SIRS clock start?
- Three weeks ago, when the incident happened
- On Monday, when the provider became aware
- When the investigation is finished
- When the worker admits it
Answer: On Monday, when the provider became aware. The reporting clock runs from when the provider becomes aware of the incident, not from when it happened. A disclosure about something that happened weeks ago starts the clock from the day you hear about it, unless someone in your organisation already knew earlier, in which case the clock started then. An allegation that a worker took money is an allegation of a criminal offence, so there are usually reasonable grounds to report it to police. That makes it Priority 1, and police must be told within 24 hours of becoming aware (Aged Care Rules 2025, s164-40(2)). The Commission says: “If you’re unsure whether an incident is criminal, it’s best to report it to the police”.
8. A client says a worker is stealing from them, but you have no proof. What should you do?
- Wait until you can confirm it before reporting
- Report it, because alleged and suspected incidents are reportable
- Ask the client to put it in writing first
- Only report it if the client wants you to
Answer: Report it, because alleged and suspected incidents are reportable. You must report incidents that are alleged or suspected, even if you cannot confirm them, and you do not need the older person’s permission to tell the Commission. Waiting for proof is a common way to miss a deadline.
9. A home care client with diabetes was told the risks and options and chose not to follow their diabetic diet. They told the provider, and the provider wrote the choice into the care plan months ago, before anything went wrong. The client later becomes unwell. Without the choice, this would be neglect and nothing else. Is it a reportable incident?
- Yes, as Priority 1 neglect
- Yes, as Priority 2 neglect
- No, in a home setting the informed choice excludes it, because the client told the provider and the provider recorded it in writing before the incident
- Yes, because the provider failed to prevent the choice
Answer: No, in a home setting the informed choice excludes it, because the client told the provider and the provider recorded it in writing before the incident. In a home or community setting, an informed choice excludes an incident only if the incident would otherwise be neglect alone, the person told the provider, and the provider recorded it in writing before the incident (Aged Care Rules 2025, s16-10(3)). Writing the choice down afterwards does not create the exclusion, so if the choice was only recorded after the incident, assess it as a normal neglect incident. In residential care the exclusion is different: an incident resulting from the resident refusing services (s16-10(2)).
10. A worker takes a client with dementia on a funded shopping outing. The client wanders off in the shopping centre and cannot be found. The worker and the coordinator call police. Which priority is this?
- Priority 1, because it is an unexplained absence with reasonable grounds to report to police
- Priority 2, because the client was not harmed
- Not reportable, because it happened in the community, not in a residential home
- Priority 2, because the client has not been missing for 24 hours
Answer: Priority 1, because it is an unexplained absence with reasonable grounds to report to police. From 1 November 2025 the old home services “missing consumer” type and the residential “unexplained absence” type are one type that applies in every setting. In a home setting it covers an absence from the setting during the delivery of funded aged care services (Aged Care Rules 2025, s16-5(11)). Where there are reasonable grounds to report it to police, it is Priority 1. Unexplained absence is always Priority 1.
11. Which of these is reportable as stealing or financial coercion by a staff member?
- A client with capacity willingly buys their worker a coffee
- A client’s adult child takes money from the client’s wallet
- A worker borrows a client’s personal property for their own use without asking
- A client’s ring goes missing and is found in a drawer an hour later
Answer: A worker borrows a client’s personal property for their own use without asking. A worker using a client’s personal property for their own purposes without permission is the kind of conduct that raises the question of stealing or financial coercion by a worker. The type only applies where a worker is involved or suspected. A family member taking money is not a SIRS incident, but you should give the person information about OPAN (1800 700 600) and 1800ELDERHelp, and contact police if there may be a crime. A misplaced item quickly found, or a willingly bought coffee, is not reportable.
12. Which of these is an unexpected death for SIRS purposes?
- A client receiving palliative care with appropriate end-of-life medication dies as expected
- A client who relied on daily wound care dies after the provider repeatedly failed to attend
- A client dies of an illness that was appropriately assessed, monitored and managed
- A client dies of an unrelated illness
Answer: A client who relied on daily wound care dies after the provider repeatedly failed to attend. Unexpected death includes a death resulting from a failure of the registered provider to deliver funded aged care services (Aged Care Rules 2025, s16-5(8)(b)(ii)). Repeatedly failing to attend care a person relied on is an example. Deaths from an illness that was appropriately managed, including palliative care with appropriate end-of-life medication, are not unexpected deaths.
13. Which of these is the Commission’s own example of neglect that puts an older person at risk of serious injury or illness?
- Weight loss during end-of-life care
- Leaving a person who needs help to move in the sun without enough shade, water or access to help
- A client choosing not to go to hospital after being told the risks
- A worker arriving 10 minutes late to a visit
Answer: Leaving a person who needs help to move in the sun without enough shade, water or access to help. Putting an older person in a situation where they could have a serious injury or illness is reportable neglect, even if no injury has happened yet. Decline from disease where all care has been taken, and an informed choice to refuse care, are not neglect.
14. You notify a Priority 1 incident within 24 hours but some information is not yet available. What is the rule?
- You do not need to provide it
- Provide it within 5 days of becoming aware, unless the Commission sets a different period
- Provide it at the next audit
- Provide it within 30 calendar days
Answer: Provide it within 5 days of becoming aware, unless the Commission sets a different period. For Priority 1 incidents you report within 24 hours of becoming aware and provide any further information within 5 days of becoming aware, unless the Commission sets a different period (Aged Care Rules 2025, s165A-25(6)). The 5 days run from becoming aware, not from lodging. You must also tell the Commission about any significant new information as soon as reasonably practicable (s165A-40).
15. How do providers notify the Commission of a reportable incident?
- By phone to the provider’s local council
- By email to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Through the My Aged Care provider portal
- By post to the Commission’s GPO Box
Answer: Through the My Aged Care provider portal. Reportable incidents are notified through the My Aged Care provider portal. NDIS reportable incidents are a separate scheme with a separate regulator.
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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.