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Quality of care
Quality of care is important for you to consider when choosing an aged care home. The links on this page take you to information on homes which have not met their responsibilities in providing care or services to residents. Other factors may also influence your decision about the suitability of a home. These may include whether the home is accredited with the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency, location and accessibility, the standard of accommodation and meals, the daily routines, social and cultural activities, and costs. To see more detailed information on the factors to take into account when assessing the suitability of a home, see the home suitability checklist.
The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd assesses homes and monitors them to make sure they comply with Accreditation Standards.
The Department of Health and Ageing can take action if it finds that standards of care, services and accommodation are not met by government subsidised aged care homes.
Notices of non-compliance (NNC)
Notices of non-compliance are issued by the Department when an approved provider has not complied with its responsibilities in providing required care and services but where this has not caused an immediate and severe risk to residents’ health, safety or well being. The notice issued to the provider makes clear what problems need to be addressed and by when. The provider is expected to meet with residents, tell them about the identified problems and explain what it will be doing to fix them.Notices of Non-Compliance are most commonly sent out for non-compliance with:
- The Accreditation Standards – there are four Standards and 44 outcomes which all aged care homes are assessed against by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency. Homes must meet all the Standards at all times. If they don’t then a Notice of Non-compliance can be issued by the Department of Health and Ageing.
- Specified Care and Services – these are the care and services that an aged care home must provide to residents at no cost to the resident.
- The Charter of Residents’ Rights – this Charter clearly sets out the rights and responsibilities of residents living in an aged care home.
If a written submission is not received within the timeframe specified in the Notice of Non-Compliance, the Department may publish details of the notice on this website.
A Notice may appear on the Current Notices of Non-Compliance web page until the approved provider has addressed the non-compliance. Once this has been verified by the Department, the Notice will be moved to the Archived Notice of Non-Compliance web page where it may remain for a period of two years from the date it was sent.
Read more: list of homes/approved providers with a current notice of non-compliance
Read more: list of homes/approved providers with an archived notice of non-compliance
Sanctions
Sanctions are imposed by the Department on approved providers where there is an immediate and severe risk to the health, safety or well being of residents or where there is continued non-compliance. The decision to impose sanctions is not taken lightly and includes consideration of issues such as whether the non-compliance is minor or serious, whether it has occurred before; and whether it threatens the health, welfare or interests of the residents.Different sanctions may be imposed, depending on the circumstances of the non-compliance.
In all cases, residents of the affected service receive a letter telling them about the problems that caused the sanction and what the service must do to fix these problems. The service is also expected to meet with residents, tell them about the identified problems and explain what the service will be doing to fix them. The Department closely monitors the service to ensure that problems are fixed quickly and that residents are supported during this challenging period.
Read more: list of homes/approved providers with a current sanction
Read more: list of homes/approved providers with an archived sanction
In imposing a sanction or issuing a Notice of Non-Compliance, the Department takes into account information under Part 4.4 of the Aged Care Act 1997, which may include reports by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency. Where reports are publicly available, they may be obtained from the Agency. The Agency's web site is http://www.accreditation.org.au/ReportsOnHomes
