How unreasonable use of force is framed
Under SIRS, unreasonable use of force is a reportable incident category covering force used against a person receiving aged care that goes beyond what is necessary and proportionate in the circumstances. It spans a wide range: from a deliberate act such as hitting, pushing, slapping or rough handling, through to using more physical force than a task reasonably requires during personal care.
The common blind spot is intent. Force does not have to be a deliberate assault to be reportable. Excessive force during a transfer, during dressing, or during continence care can be unreasonable use of force even where the worker did not mean to cause harm. What matters is whether the force used was more than the situation reasonably required.
Priority 1 or Priority 2
Unreasonable use of force is not always Priority 1. Like most SIRS categories, it is assessed against the Priority 1 trigger. It is Priority 1 if:
- It caused, or could reasonably have caused, physical or psychological injury or discomfort requiring medical or psychological treatment; or
- There are reasonable grounds to report it to police.
If neither is true, the incident is still reportable, as Priority 2 within 30 calendar days. When you are unsure whether the trigger is met, the safer default is to treat it as the higher priority until your delegate reviews it. A deliberate strike against a resident will almost always give reasonable grounds to involve police, which points to Priority 1.
Illustrative examples across the severity range
These are illustrative and de-identified. They show how the same category spans very different priorities. They are not a determination for any real case.
Toward Priority 1
A worker becomes frustrated and strikes a resident during personal care, leaving a bruise that needs clinical review. Because it caused injury requiring treatment and there are grounds to report it to police, this points toward Priority 1 and a 24-hour clock.
Toward Priority 2
During a rushed transfer, a worker grips and pulls a resident more forcefully than the task required. The resident is shaken but not injured, and there are no grounds to involve police. The force was still more than reasonable, so this points toward a reportable Priority 2 incident.
Record it either way
A single, promptly addressed instance of a worker being briefly too firm, with no harm and no pattern, may not meet the SIRS threshold. It still has to be recorded in your own incident management system under Standard 2 (The Organisation), and a cluster of these is exactly what reveals an emerging problem with a worker or a task.
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.