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Policy, Strategy & Planning

Expanding the national aged care mandatory quality indicator program

A person in a health consultant job at HealthConsult

Purpose

The Australian Government's Department of Health and Aged Care commissioned the HealthConsult, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and the University of Queensland (UQ) Consortium to develop new Quality Indicators (QIs) for enrolled nurses (ENs), allied health professionals, and lifestyle officers. These will be implemented as part of the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program).

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Approach

In collaboration with SAHMRI and UQ, we undertook the following tasks:

  • Sector consultation: Engaged with aged care providers, consumer representatives, professional bodies, and government stakeholders to assess sector priorities and feasibility of proposed indicators.
  • Stakeholder engagement: Conducted surveys, received written submissions, and facilitated webinars with over 900 participants to ensure broad consultation.
  • Pilot study: Ran a six-week trial with 69 residential aged care services nationwide to test the indicators’ practicality and alignment with sector needs.
  • Feasibility assessment: Analysed the capacity of aged care providers to collect and report on staffing QIs, ensuring indicators were implementable at scale.
  • Data analysis: Evaluated pilot data to assess workforce patterns, care minute allocations, and resident engagement trends, informing final recommendations.
  • Implementation planning: Developed guidance materials and reporting templates to assist providers in transitioning to mandatory reporting from 1 April 2025.

Outcome

The Department of Health and Aged Care has released the Final Report on Expanding the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator (QI) Program: Staffing Quality Indicators (QIs).

The report’s findings and recommendations directly informed the expansion of the National Aged Care Mandatory QI Program, leading to the introduction of the following new staffing QIs:

  • Proportion of EN care minutes (EN care minutes as a percentage of total care minutes)
  • Proportion of Nursing care minutes (EN care minutes as a percentage of nursing care minutes)
  • Allied health care minutes per resident per day
  • Percentage of recommended allied health services received
  • Lifestyle officer care minutes

From 1 April 2025 residential aged care providers will start collecting data for these staffing QIs.