AMA submission to the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency on the draft guidance aged care standards

The guidance document sets out good principles for aged care services. The next step is to provide guidance on how the new standards will be implemented, and to provide the funding for adequately trained staff to be able to meet the standards while still providing quality care to their consumers. The current document does not include clear measures for the standards, and aged care organisations may find it challenging to understand what is required of them.

This guidance document covers the majority of care and concerns for consumers, however the AMA is concerned that this will require a huge administrative burden that will take up the little time that the aged care workforce has to care for consumers. Like the previous Accreditation Standards, the AACQA must ensure that this process does not become a barrier to receiving quality care.