Regulator cracks down on aged care providers failing to meet care minutes   


The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) has publicly outed 11 providers, and 27 residential aged care homes that have been hit with ‘enforceable undertakings’ from the regulator for failing to meet the care minute targets.

These providers have been placed under active supervision due to their significant, unexplained and sustained non-compliance with care minutes requirements. 

The Commission was using its regulatory powers to hold providers to account, said ACQSC Commissioner Janet Anderson.

“All residential aged care providers are on notice as the Commission will continue to actively monitor, engage with and take regulatory action against providers that persistently fall well short of their care minutes requirements.

“Failure to deliver mandatory care minutes where there is an absence of tangible effort to achieve these targets could lead to sanctions and financial penalties.”

Following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Australian Government introduced additional mandatory workforce-related responsibilities for residential aged care providers. These responsibilities require providers to deliver 24/7 registered nurse (RN) staffing on every site from 1 July 2023.

Since 1 October 2023, residential aged care homes have had to deliver mandatory care minutes, increasing to a sector average of 215 care minutes per resident per day on 1 October 2024. This includes 44 minutes of registered nurse care.

The Commissioner wrote to providers that had not achieved the mandated care minute targets last June, asking them to explain the non-compliance and the steps taken to remedy the situation.

This was followed by an open letter addressed to providers in October by Federal Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells who described the lack of compliance by some operators as disappointing given the government’s record funding to lift wages in aged care.

Federal Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells

Minister Wells highlighted the importance of staffing levels, describing mandatory care minutes targets, as a “once in a lifetime change” to improve the quality and safety of care of nursing home residents.

Mandatory care minutes ensure that older people in residential aged care homes receive the dedicated direct care time, including from a registered nurse, that they need.

Enforceable Undertakings are now in place for those providers that have fallen well short of delivering their care minutes targets across successive quarters. These set out agreed actions the provider will take to meet their care minutes requirements and are legally binding.

Examples of actions that providers have agreed to take include immediate recruitment of more nursing and care staff.

The Commission’s initial action has focused on services in metropolitan locations where surrounding services have much smaller – or no – care minutes shortfalls.

The Commission can take the provider to court for failing to implement its Enforceable Undertaking. Homes that decline an offer for an enforceable undertaking or fail to comply, may result in sanctions imposed, which can involve revoking their ability to provide aged care services or restricting the payment of subsidies to the provider.

Enforceable Undertakings are published by the Commission in full on the website when they are finalised.

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