Preparing for Your Aged Care Audit

This lesson sets the scene for the whole course. The Aged Care Act 2024 started on 1 November 2025 and every provider of government funded aged care must now be registered by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Key points: registration tests a provider's suitability, capacity and capability; the Commission sets a registration period, may add conditions and gives every provider a supervision status; audits inform registration, renewal and variation decisions; and continuous improvement is an obligation for every provider. The course builds knowledge only and does not replace the Commission's current guidance, legal advice or clinical judgement.

Which strengthened Quality Standards you are audited against depends on your registration category. This lesson explains the six categories and the standards that apply to each. Key points: categories 1 to 3 cover home and community services, assistive technology and home modifications, and advisory and support services, and the strengthened standards do not apply to them, although the Statement of Rights and the Code of Conduct do; category 4 meets Standards 1 to 4, plus Outcome 5.1 for care management and restorative care management; category 5 meets Standards 1 to 5; category 6 meets all seven.

The Commission uses audits and a range of monitoring activities. This lesson explains the difference. Key points: audits against the strengthened standards happen when a provider applies to register, renew or vary registration in categories 4, 5 or 6, and they are announced; the renewal invitation can arrive up to 18 months before registration expires; between audits the Commission monitors every provider through targeted enquiries, targeted reviews, inspections and investigations, which can be announced or unannounced; and every provider has one of four supervision statuses, from risk surveillance to heightened supervision.

Strong preparation starts with understanding how auditors think about evidence. This lesson explains the eight evidence categories the Commission draws on and the tests it applies. Key points: auditors collect evidence from the experience of older people, the governing body, management, workers, third parties, observations, documents and records, and care outcomes; they first look at your governance and systems, then confirm them from other sources; evidence is judged on whether it is relevant, current, credible and valid, and on the totality, strength and sufficiency of the evidence; and audits look forward at whether you can sustain and improve conformance.

Audits run on two Commission tools. This lesson explains how to prepare for them. Key points: every registration, renewal and variation audit needs a completed Audit Evidence Collection Tool, the AECT, with supporting documents; renewal audits also need a Care Delivery Evidence Collection Tool, the CDECT, for each residential home or sampled location, which collects evidence such as rosters, incident reports, infection reports and complaints; both have deadlines, and the Commission can issue a formal notice or withdraw an application if they are not completed; and a well organised document set saves time and shows control.

Evidence is strongest when you can trace one thread from policy to practice to outcome. This lesson works through what each strengthened standard asks of providers and the kind of evidence that shows it working. Key points: Standard 1 is the foundation, about dignity, choice and informed decisions; Standard 2 makes the governing body responsible for quality, risk, incidents, complaints, workforce and emergencies; Standards 3 and 4 cover care planning, communication and safe environments; Standard 5 covers clinical governance and clinical care; Standards 6 and 7 apply to residential care; and tracing a sample of people end to end is the best test before the auditors arrive.

Interviews with older people and their supporters are central to renewal audits. This lesson explains how the Commission involves them and what we do to prepare respectfully. Key points: the Commission uses the CDECT to select a sample of older people, supporters and workers; in home care it will contact older people directly; we tell people about the audit, their rights under the Statement of Rights, and that they may be invited to give feedback; we explain how to give feedback to us and to the Commission; we never choose, coach or discourage who speaks; and we never sit in unless the person asks us to.

Auditors interview workers to test whether systems are understood and used. This lesson explains how to prepare staff without scripting them. Key points: worker feedback is one of the eight evidence categories; auditors use staff interviews to check that governance, systems and processes are embedded in daily practice; staff should be able to describe what they do and why in their own words; briefings should cover the audit process, where to find procedures, and that honest answers are expected; and staff should know they can say they are unsure and explain how they would find out.

Auditors also watch care happen and read records. This lesson explains what observation and file review can show and how to prepare. Key points: renewal audits include observations and file reviews alongside interviews; observation shows whether dignity, choice, infection control, safe equipment and, in residential care, the dining experience are real; file review checks that assessments, care plans, progress notes and incident records are current, consistent and lead to action; in home care, auditors look at how you manage environmental risks for the services you deliver; and our own observation audits are the best preparation.

An audit is built around a series of meetings, each with a standard agenda from the Commission. This lesson explains who attends and what each meeting is for. Key points: an online audit initiation meeting of about 30 minutes starts the audit; the governing body meeting involves 1 to 3 members and the senior management meeting 2 to 5, each online for about 90 to 120 minutes; renewal audits add an opening meeting for each home or for all sampled locations, and an entry meeting on arrival; there are daily 30 minute feedback meetings onsite; and a 30 minute closing meeting presents preliminary findings, with no new evidence accepted.

Good organisation on the audit days lets auditors work efficiently and keeps care running normally. This lesson sets out the roles and routines we use and how to communicate with the audit team. Key points: appoint one audit coordinator as the key contact, plus a document runner; if auditors request documents onsite, the Commission expects them within an hour; keep rosters and care normal; act on any immediate risk the moment it is raised; raise disagreements with evidence at feedback meetings; and never alter, back date or create records. Fix the system and show the improvement instead.

Ratings are given for every outcome and then for each standard. This lesson explains what each rating means and the reports you receive. Key points: the ratings are conformance, minor non-conformance and major non-conformance, with an exceeding rating available only to residential homes in category 6 renewal audits; minor non-conformance means gaps that are not systemic and do not present high risk; major non-conformance means you have not shown you can run and improve the system and there is likely significant risk; you receive a preliminary report, then a final report; and ratings affect Star Ratings and audit reports are published.

A strong response to a preliminary report can shape the final outcome. This lesson explains how to respond and what the Commission can do next. Key points: respond within the timeframe in the email, describing steps taken or planned and including a revised continuous improvement plan; under section 109-15 of the Aged Care Rules, if the non-conformance is fixed no more is needed, otherwise the Commission can ask for an updated plan with a set timeframe or place a condition on registration; at renewal it can renew, renew with conditions or refuse, with procedural fairness; and it can also use compliance actions such as notices.

Continuous improvement is an obligation under the Act for every provider, and providers in categories 4, 5 and 6 must have a continuous improvement plan. This lesson explains what a strong plan contains and how to run it. Key points: the plan is a living document; for each improvement it shows the area for improvement and what it relates to, the planned action, the person responsible, the target completion date, evidence of completion, and when you report back to the Commission; it draws on complaints, incidents, internal audits and feedback as well as the standards; and it follows a five stage cycle from identifying issues to embedding what works.

This case study follows Wattle Grove, a residential care home preparing for its category 6 renewal audit. The quality lead, Amira, works through the invitation to renew, the AECT and CDECT, a tracer that uncovers gaps in falls follow up, and the onsite days. Key points: start as soon as the renewal invitation arrives; run tracers and act on what they find; tell residents and their supporters about the audit and their rights; keep care normal; act immediately on risks raised by auditors; and use feedback meetings to provide extra evidence before the closing meeting.

This case study follows Riverside Home Care, a Support at Home provider registered in categories 1, 4 and 5, through a renewal audit of sampled service locations. The clinical and quality lead, Bao, confirms the standards in scope, keeps the CDECT accurate, and responds to a concern about how home safety risks are reported. Key points: category 5 brings in Standards 1 to 5; category 1 services add no standards but the Statement of Rights and Code apply; clients in the sample may be contacted directly; and Standard 4 expects you to manage environmental risks in the home for your services. The lesson ends with the course summary.