Aged Care Compliance for Small Operators: What You Must Know in 2026

The aged care sector in Australia is undergoing its most significant reform in decades, driven by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the Aged Care Act 2024 — replacing the Aged Care Act 1997 that has governed the sector for nearly 30 years. For small aged care operators, staying compliant has never been more complex — or more critical.

This guide covers the key obligations under the new framework for small aged care operators.

The New Aged Care Act 2024

The Aged Care Act 2024 commenced on 1 July 2025, bringing a new regulatory framework that places older people's rights at the centre of the system. Key changes include:

• New registration requirements — all providers must register under the new system by 1 November 2025
• Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards — seven revised standards apply from 1 July 2025
• New governance and accountability requirements — including requirements for boards to include older people's representatives
• Expanded civil and criminal penalties — for serious non-compliance
• New complaint mechanisms — strengthened rights for recipients to complain

Registration Under the New System

Under the Aged Care Act 2024, all providers must be registered with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC). Registration replaces the previous approval system and requires providers to demonstrate:

• Good character (fit and proper person assessments)
• Financial viability and sustainability
• Compliance with the Strengthened Standards
• Appropriate governance structures

Existing approved providers were given a transition period to register under the new Act, with registration deadlines applying from mid-2025.

If you provide aged care services without current registration, you are committing a serious criminal offence.

The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards

The seven Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards apply from 1 July 2025 and replace the previous eight standards:

1. The Person — Care is person-centred, respects dignity, and supports independence
2. The Organisation — Governance, management, and culture support quality and safety
3. The Care Environment — Physical environments are safe, accessible, and supportive
4. The Care and Services — Care is safe, effective, coordinated, and appropriate
5. Organisation's Workforce — Safe, sufficient, skilled, and cared-for workforce
6. Food and Nutrition — Residents receive adequate, appropriate, enjoyable food and nutrition
7. The Residential Community — Residents live in a community environment

For home care and community aged care providers, equivalent standards apply to the delivery of services in people's homes.

Providers are assessed against these standards through:

• Regulatory monitoring — unannounced inspections by ACQSC auditors
• Accreditation — for residential aged care providers
• Performance assessment — ongoing monitoring via quality indicators, complaints analysis, and incident data

Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS)

The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) requires all aged care providers to:

1. Manage incidents through a systematic incident management system
2. Report serious incidents to the ACQSC within specific timeframes

Priority 1 incidents (e.g., unexpected death, serious physical injury, sexual misconduct, inappropriate use of restraint) must be reported to the ACQSC within 24 hours of the provider becoming aware.

Priority 2 incidents (e.g., missing persons, financial and material exploitation, inappropriate physical or chemical restraint not causing serious injury) must be reported within 30 calendar days.

All incidents — including near-misses — must be recorded in your incident management system, investigated, and have corrective actions implemented.

Restrictive Practices

The use of restraint in aged care is highly regulated. Restrictive practices include:

• Chemical restraint (using medication to restrict movement or behaviour)
• Physical restraint (using physical force to restrict movement)
• Mechanical restraint (using devices to restrict movement)
• Environmental restraint (using the environment to restrict movement or access)
• Seclusion

Any use of restrictive practices must be:

• Authorised by an appropriate person (consent from the person or their substitute decision-maker, or a clinical decision with appropriate oversight)
• Documented
• Reviewed regularly
• Reported to the ACQSC if it is a reportable incident

Chemical restraint in particular is closely scrutinised. The use of antipsychotic medications to control behaviour — rather than for clinical reasons — is a serious compliance issue and can result in criminal prosecution.

Workforce Requirements

Under the Strengthened Standards, aged care providers must ensure their workforce is:

• Safe (not posing risks to residents)
• Sufficient (adequate staffing levels for safe and quality care)
• Skilled (appropriately qualified and trained)
• Cared for (worker wellbeing is supported)

Worker Screening

All workers in aged care must have a current Aged Care Worker Screening Check — a national screening check administered by the ACQSC. This replaces previous state-based checks for aged care workers and is a national standard.

Workers must not commence work with older people until their screening check is returned with a clearance. Providers must verify clearances before deployment and maintain records.

24/7 Registered Nurse Requirement

Residential aged care providers must ensure a registered nurse is on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This requirement, which came into effect on 1 July 2023, significantly affects staffing models for small residential providers.

Mandatory Care Minutes

From 1 October 2024, residential aged care providers must meet mandatory average care minute targets:

• 200 minutes of care per resident per day on average
• Including at least 40 minutes with a registered nurse or enrolled nurse

These targets are monitored by the Department of Health and Aged Care through care minutes reporting. Providers consistently falling below the targets face compliance action.

Funding Compliance

Residential aged care funding comes through the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) system, which replaced the previous ACFI funding model. Under AN-ACC:

• Residents are assessed and classified by independent assessors
• Funding is based on the classification and the provider's costs
• Providers must use AN-ACC funding appropriately for care purposes

Home care funding operates under the Support at Home program (commenced 1 July 2025), which replaced the Home Care Packages program. Providers under Support at Home must manage funding according to the new program rules.

Employment Law for Aged Care

Most aged care workers are covered by the Aged Care Award 2010 — a complex award with significant provisions around:

• Shiftwork and sleepover arrangements
• Personal care worker rates at different levels
• Nursing staff classifications
• Allowances for working with infectious clients, manual handling, and on-call

The Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman have flagged aged care as a sector with significant award underpayment risk, particularly for casual workers and those on broken shifts.

How Reguladar Helps

Aged care compliance is among the most complex in Australia — overlapping federal regulatory frameworks, incident reporting obligations, workforce requirements, and employment law all apply simultaneously. For small operators, keeping track of it all is a genuine challenge.

Reguladar surfaces your aged care compliance obligations — including SIRS reporting timeframes, worker screening expiry dates, care minute requirements, and employment law obligations — in a single personalised dashboard.

Know where you stand across all your aged care obligations. Start your free compliance check at Reguladar and get your complete compliance picture today.