OPINION
A new approach to aged care regulation Commission releases new Regulatory Strategy
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has released its Regulatory Strategy for 2024-2025. This is a foundational document for the Commission, as it underpins every regulatory action we take. The updated Regulatory Strategy describes how we will deliver on our commitment to protect older people, and how we hold providers and workers to account. Importantly, our Regulatory Strategy outlines what we expect from providers and workers, as well as what they can expect from us. Embedded in the strategy is the Commission’s aim to be fair, balanced and effective in all that we do. We consulted on the draft, including with the Aged & Community Care Providers Association, the Older Persons Advocacy Network, Council on the Ageing and industrial associations. The Commission has matured considerably since our previous regulatory strategy was last updated in 2020. We have increased our capabilities and become more sophisticated in our practice, and this is reflected in the updated strategy. We are focused on: ■ building a culture of continuous improvement to boost
stakeholders’ trust and confidence in us as the regulator
■ undertaking increasingly sophisticated analyses at both
provider and sector level to prevent and respond to risk
■ continuing to work with older people, providers and
workers to improve the quality and effectiveness of our communication and education materials.
We expect providers to work in genuine partnership with older people to identify opportunities for improvement, delivering high-quality aged care that respects and dignifies older people. When things go wrong, we expect providers to remedy the problem, restore the trust of older people and take meaningful steps to prevent the problem from happening again. The Regulatory Strategy also explains how we will manage risk within the sector. We are constantly receiving a broad range of information about providers’ and workers’ performance which we use to detect risks. We call this risk surveillance. We assess risks by analysing that information to ensure that our responses are timely, proportionate and targeted
Commissioner Janet Anderson speaking at the National Aged Care Provider Conference 2024.
to address problematic sector, provider and/or worker performance and behaviour. Provider supervision is part of the Commission’s strategy to drive the delivery of high-quality care. This involves supervising providers in a way that encourages them to address risks and lift their performance. We use a range of regulatory approaches and tools to monitor if providers are doing the right thing, and we take compliance and enforcement actions to protect older people when we identify serious failures in care. All providers are allocated a supervision status. Providers that are assessed to be high risk will experience a greater intensity of supervision and engagement from the Commission in response to the risks identified. The four supervisory statuses in increasing order of risk are risk surveillance, targeted, active and heightened supervision. Providers subject to targeted, active or heightened supervision will be aware of this through the Commission’s engagement with them. We will hold providers and workers accountable for the care they provide, while supporting and incentivising them to reach for high-quality care. 13