What counts as an unexplained absence from care under SIRS?

An unexplained absence is when a person receiving care is absent from the care service and their whereabouts are unknown or unaccounted for, in circumstances that are out of character or that raise concern for their safety, such that there are reasonable grounds to report it to police. In a home setting it must be an absence from the setting during the delivery of funded aged care services (Aged Care Rules 2025, s16-5(11)). 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.

What priority is an unexplained absence under SIRS?

An unexplained absence that meets the police-report threshold is always Priority 1 under SIRS, with a 24-hour reporting timeframe, regardless of how the individual case is assessed.

Unexplained Absence Under SIRS: When It Is Reportable

Q: Is an unexplained absence reportable under SIRS?

An unexplained absence from care is defined by there being reasonable grounds to report it to police (Aged Care Rules 2025, s16-5(11)). In a home setting it must be an absence from the setting during the delivery of funded aged care services. When that threshold is met it is always treated as Priority 1 and must be notified to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission within 24 hours of the provider becoming aware.

Unexplained absence under SIRS: when it is reportable

Unexplained absence is one of the eight SIRS reportable categories, and one of the most time-critical. When it meets the threshold for reporting to police, it is always Priority 1, which means a 24-hour clock. This page explains what counts, and where the line sits.

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 we recommend is to report. The Commission says: “If you’re unsure whether an incident is criminal, it’s best to report it to the police”.

What counts as an unexplained absence

An unexplained absence is when a person receiving care is absent from the care service and their whereabouts are unknown or unaccounted for, in circumstances that are out of character or that raise a concern for their safety. The SIRS category is defined by there being reasonable grounds to report the absence to police. In a home setting it must be an absence from the setting during the delivery of funded aged care services (Aged Care Rules 2025, s16-5(11)).

From 1 November 2025 the old home services "missing consumer" type and the residential "unexplained absence" type were merged into one type that applies in every setting. The reasonable-grounds-to-report-to-police threshold is what brings an absence into the reportable category. An absence that is fully explained and consistent with the person's plan and choices, for example a planned outing or an agreed independent activity, is not an unexplained absence.

Why it is always Priority 1

Because an unexplained absence is defined by reasonable grounds to report it to police, it is always Priority 1 (Aged Care Rules 2025, s165A-25(2)). You do not run a separate severity assessment to decide the priority: the 24-hour clock applies from the moment your organisation becomes aware. In practice, awareness and the decision to contact police often happen close together, but the SIRS clock is tied to your awareness of the reportable incident.

Illustrative examples

These are illustrative and de-identified, to show where the line tends to fall. They are not a substitute for your delegate's judgement on a specific case.

Likely reportable

A resident living with dementia is found to be missing from a residential service. Their whereabouts are unknown, they are at risk, and staff contact police. This is an unexplained absence with reasonable grounds to report to police, likely Priority 1.

Likely reportable

A home-care worker arrives for a scheduled visit and the person is not there, has not been seen, cannot be contacted, and this is out of character in a way that raises a safety concern with reasonable grounds to report to police. Treat it as Priority 1.

Likely not this category

A person who directs their own care has chosen to go out and their absence is explained and consistent with their plan and capacity. There is no safety concern warranting police involvement. This is not an unexplained absence, though your own records should still reflect it.

Because this category runs on a 24-hour clock, the internal notification pathway matters. Every hour between a worker realising a person is missing and your delegate becoming aware is an hour off your reporting window. Capture the moment of awareness with a timestamp.

Check a specific incident in the decision tool Calculate the 24-hour deadline When does the clock start?What counts as neglect under SIRS

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.

Other high-risk SIRS categories

An unexplained absence sits alongside two other categories that turn on the same question: what actually happened, and when did the organisation know.

The neglect category deep-dive

Illustrative examples across the severity range.

When force becomes a reportable incident

How the category is framed, and when it is Priority 1 versus Priority 2.

Notification checklist

What to have ready once you have confirmed the category.

Aged care worker screening

The clearance checks that sit upstream of a missing-person response.

Structured incident reporting

Log the incident from the shift and keep the notification history in one place.

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.