Strengthened Quality Standards in Aged Care: Guide to 2025 Changes

Big changes are coming to aged care in Australia in 2025. These reforms set a new benchmark for safety, dignity and quality of care. They follow the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and align with the upcoming Aged Care Act. Together, they represent a major shift toward more person-centred, accountable and responsive care.

As the sector prepares, it’s important to understand what’s changing, why it matters, and how to move forward with confidence.

Here’s what we’ll explore in this blog:

• Why the standards are changing
• What’s new in the 2025 framework
• When the changes take effect
• What it means for providers and residents
• A breakdown of all 7 strengthened standards
• What providers need to do now
• Consequences of non-compliance
• Real examples of substandard care
• FAQs on navigating the new aged care landscape

Why Are The Aged Care Standards Changing in 2025?

In 2021, the Royal Commission found widespread issues in aged care such as neglect, substandard care, and lack of accountability. In response, the Department reviewed the standards and created a stronger framework to lift care quality. It promotes a culture of respect, transparency and person-centred care, placing human rights at the core of service delivery.

These changes are part of a broader reform agenda under the new Aged Care Act, which is set to replace outdated legislation and establish a rights-based foundation for aged care. It will be focused on giving older people more choice, stronger protections, and a greater voice in their care, ensuring the system is fair, transparent, and built around their needs.

What’s New in the Strengthened Standards?

The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards introduce a clearer, more practical framework for delivering safe and respectful care. Compared to the previous version, the new Standards are more outcome-focused and easier to apply across different care settings.

Sharper Focus on Key Care Areas

The new standards place greater emphasis on specific aspects of care that were often overlooked or inconsistently applied under the previous framework. These include:

• Dementia care
• Clinical care
• Food and nutrition
• Inclusive care for diverse backgrounds (including cultural, linguistic, and LGBTIQA+ communities)
• Governance and organisational responsibility

Highlighting these areas allow the strengthened standards to close critical gaps and ensure care is tailored to the varied and complex needs of older Australians.

Clearer Expectations and Accountability

Unlike the previous standards, which relied heavily on broad principles, the updated version includes specific expectations for providers and workers. This shift supports more consistent care and makes it easier to assess performance and enforce accountability.

Alignment With Broader Aged Care Reforms

The strengthened standards are designed to work alongside the new Aged Care Act and the Charter of Aged Care Rights. Together, they support a rights-based, person-centred approach to aged care and ensure that care is guided by transparency, fairness and respect.

When Will the Strengthened Standards Come into Effect?

The Strengthened Quality Standards will officially commence on 1 July 2025, alongside the new Aged Care Act. Until then, the current standards will continue to apply.

This lead-up period gives providers time to understand the changes, assess their readiness, and make the necessary adjustments before the new framework becomes mandatory.

What Does This Mean For Providers and Residents

The Strengthened Quality Standards represent a shift from procedural compliance to a deeper focus on care quality, outcomes, and accountability. For aged care providers, this means putting person-centred principles and human rights at the centre of how they deliver services, manage teams, and lead their organisations.

The updated framework sets clearer expectations around leadership, staff capability, and continuous improvement. Providers will need to ensure their teams are supported and equipped to deliver consistent, respectful, and safe care that reflects the needs and preferences of each individual.

For residents and their families, the strengthened standards aim to create a more transparent and inclusive experience. They support greater involvement in care planning, more informed choices, and stronger recognition of each person’s identity, values and dignity.

7 Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards

Standard 1: The Person

This standard puts older people at the centre of all aged care decisions. It recognises each person as an individual with their own life story, identity, values and goals. It reinforces their right to dignity, respect, inclusion and choice, including the right to take informed risks. Providers and workers must use this standard to guide how they design and deliver every aspect of care.

What Providers and Workers Should Do

• Deliver care that reflects each person’s values, needs and preferences
• Document what matters to the person in their care plan and keep it updated
• Communicate in ways that suit the person’s abilities and preferences
• Support informed decision-making and adapt as capacity changes
• Respect dignity of risk and help manage choices safely

Standard 2: The Organisation

This standard defines how aged care organisations lead, govern, and maintain quality. The governing body must set a clear direction, support a culture of safety and inclusion, and take responsibility for performance. Providers must put systems in place, like staff development, risk management, and information handling that support consistent, person-centred care. Strong leadership and systems enable teams to deliver the other standards well.

What Providers and Workers Should Focus On

• Establish systems to monitor and respond to risks, incidents and feedback
• Maintain secure, accessible information systems that support care and compliance
• Provide staff with clear policies, regular training and performance support
• Encourage staff to raise issues and share ideas without fear
• Follow internal processes for reporting, risk management and record-keeping
• Include older people and families in planning and decision-making
• Promote a culture of respect, accountability and continuous improvement

Standard 3: The Care and Services

This standard outlines how providers must deliver aged care services across all care types. It focuses on tailoring care to meet each person’s needs, goals and preferences, using proper planning, communication and coordination. Delivering good care depends on a strong, skilled workforce and draws on the principles in standard 1, especially the importance of listening to the person and making sure they stay involved in decisions about their care.

What Providers and Workers Should Focus On

• Ensure care planning is inclusive, thorough and regularly reviewed
• Coordinate care across internal teams and external providers
• Follow care plans and adapt to each person’s changing needs
• Monitor for signs of change and escalate when necessary
• Communicate clearly with care teams and keep records updated
• Deliver inclusive, trauma-aware care that reflects each person’s identity
• Support informed choices and manage risk safely

Standard 4: The Environment

This standard ensures older people receive care in a physical environment that is safe, comfortable and supports their wellbeing, whether in their own home or a residential setting. It also sets clear expectations for infection prevention and control (IPC), making sure risks are minimised and care is delivered in a clean, hygienic, and respectful way.

What Providers and Workers Should Focus On

• Maintain clean, accessible environments that support mobility and comfort
• Implement infection control systems and outbreak protocols
• Ensure care equipment is safe, appropriate and well-maintained
• Report hazards or broken equipment promptly
• Use equipment safely and seek training if needed
• Follow IPC procedures, including PPE use and hygiene practices
• Create environments where people feel safe, respected and supported

Standard 5: Clinical Care

This standard outlines how providers must deliver safe, quality clinical care to older people, whether in residential settings or at home. It focuses on ensuring clinical care is planned and delivered by a skilled workforce using evidence-based approaches. Clinical care must be person-centred, inclusive, and coordinated, especially for people with complex health needs, chronic conditions, or those nearing end of life. Effective implementation relies on strong clinical governance and collaboration with other health professionals.

What Providers and Workers Should Focus On

• Providers must implement and maintain a clinical governance framework that sets out roles, responsibilities and oversight processes.
• Providers must ensure systems are in place to support safe medication management, infection control, and collaboration with health professionals.
• Providers must ensure the workforce is trained, competent, and supported to deliver clinical care in line with best practice.
• Workers should understand their scope of practice and escalate clinical concerns or decisions outside their role.
• Workers should deliver clinical care according to the person’s care plan and monitor for changes in health, wellbeing or function.
• Workers should recognise and respond to signs of deterioration, including those nearing end of life, and follow escalation procedures.
• Both providers and workers should support informed decision-making and respect the person’s choices, including those involving risk.
• Both providers and workers should ensure clinical care is culturally safe, trauma-aware and responsive to the person’s background and preferences.

Standard 6: Food and Nutrition

This standard ensures that older people living in residential aged care receive food and drink that are nutritious, appetising, safe, and aligned with their individual needs and preferences. It also emphasises the importance of the dining experience as part of wellbeing and quality of life. Providers must create mealtime environments that support choice, dignity and social connection.

What Providers and Workers Should Focus On

• Providers must involve older people in menu planning and regularly seek feedback to improve meals and the dining experience.
• Providers must ensure food meets dietary, cultural and medical needs, including texture modifications where required.
• Providers must monitor for signs of malnutrition or dehydration and act promptly when concerns are raised.
• Workers should understand each person’s preferences, dietary needs and any risks that affect eating and drinking.
• Workers should support older people during mealtimes, including offering help, prompts or adaptive utensils when needed.
• Workers should notice and report when someone isn’t eating or drinking well, and help explore why.
• Both providers and workers should respect the person’s right to make food choices, even if those involve some risk, and support these choices safely.
• Both providers and workers should promote a comfortable, inclusive dining environment that values enjoyment and connection.

Standard 7: The Residential Community

This standard focuses on creating a residential care environment where older people feel safe, valued and at home. It highlights the importance of meaningful daily living, social connection, cultural identity, and continuity during transitions into, out of, or within residential care. Providers must support personal autonomy, community participation, and access to spaces and services that promote inclusion and quality of life.

What Providers and Workers Should Focus On

• Providers must offer a variety of activities that reflect residents’ interests, strengths and cultural identities.
• Providers must ensure safe, inclusive environments that support relationships, autonomy and wellbeing.
• Providers must coordinate planned and unplanned transitions of care to ensure continuity, safety and informed decision-making.
• Workers should learn what matters most to each resident and support them to engage in meaningful activities.
• Workers should respect each person’s right to participate in the community and maintain relationships of their choosing.
• Workers should uphold privacy, autonomy and dignity, including in how and with whom residents choose to spend their time.
• Both providers and workers should recognise and support dignity of risk when older people make choices about how they live.
• Both providers and workers should work together to ensure transitions are smooth, well-communicated and aligned with the person’s preferences and needs.

What Aged Care Providers Need to Do Now

Step 1: Conduct a Gap Analysis Against the New Standards

Review each of the seven strengthened standards line by line. Map your current practices, policies and procedures against the updated expectations. Use tools like:

• Self-assessment tools
• Audit checklist built around each standard’s outcomes
• A compliance matrix to document alignment, gaps, and responsibilities

Engage leaders across clinical care, quality, governance and lifestyle services. Focus on identifying shortfalls in consumer dignity, safety, feedback systems and workforce capability.

Step 2: Update Internal Policies and Care Procedures

Review and revise existing documents to reflect the new standards. This includes:

• Updating policy language to align with human rights, person-centred care, trauma-aware and culturally safe practices
• Revising procedures for care planning, incident management, clinical care and complaint handling
• Ensuring documentation templates include updated terminology (e.g. “goals of care,” “dignity of risk”)
• Publishing policies in accessible formats for staff and consumers

Use a version control system and log changes to demonstrate continuous improvement and compliance.

Step 3: Start Workforce Education and Training

Upskilling your workforce is essential to ensuring the strengthened standards are understood and confidently applied in daily care. Partner with Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that specialise in healthcare to deliver accredited, contextualised training aligned with the sector’s evolving needs. The training should reflect key principles such as person-centred care, trauma-aware practice, cultural safety, and clinical governance.

Support formal learning with free resources on critical topics like dignity of risk, supported decision-making, infection control, and inclusive care. Tailor training by role and care setting, and embed it into everyday practices through regular refreshers, coaching, and reflective learning.

Step 4: Build a Digital Infrastructure That Embeds Training and Compliance

Once your workforce is equipped with the knowledge and skills to meet the strengthened standards, the next step is making sure that training translates into day-to-day care.

Cloud Assess’s partnership with Humanforce helps aged care providers do just that by connecting workforce capability with operational delivery. Cloud Assess is a healthcare LMS solution that provides a healthcare-specific training and compliance platform that supports providers to:

• Deliver learning aligned with aged care best practice and regulatory requirements
• Track staff competencies, qualifications and completion status in real time
• Maintain audit-ready records with digital evidence
• Tailor learning pathways by role, site or care setting
• Support structured programs such as working in aged care courses to build foundational skills and sector readiness
• Automate reporting to identify gaps and demonstrate compliance

Humanforce complements this by managing workforce rostering and shift compliance. It ensures that only staff with the right, up-to-date training are rostered, helping providers align staffing decisions with regulatory expectations and care quality goals.

Together, Cloud Assess and Humanforce enable a connected, capable and compliant workforce, so providers can deliver safe, person-centred care with confidence.