The Albanese Government continues to deliver on our commitment to improve care for people living in aged care homes.
From today, aged care homes must deliver a sector average of 200 care minutes per resident per day, including 40 minutes of registered nurse care.
This means older Australians in aged care homes have better access to personal and clinical care delivered by registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care workers and assistants in nursing.
This comes following the introduction of the 24/7 registered nursing responsibility on 1 July 2023, with a registered nurse now on-site and on duty 98.08% of the time across the aged care sector.
Minimum care time standards were recommended by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which identified that staffing levels are vital to high-quality aged care.
Since Labor came into Government, the average number of care minutes provided per resident per day has increased from 183.53 to 193.99 – this includes the provision of 36.78 minutes of registered nurse care (Quarterly Financial Report, June 2023 quarter) – meaning in total aged care residents now receive more than 1.8 million additional minutes of direct care every day.
Care minutes delivered by registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care workers and assistants will be reflected in aged care homes’ Star Ratings from April 2024.
From 1 October 2024, mandatory care minutes will increase to an average of 215 minutes of care, including 44 minutes from a registered nurse.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells:
“This is yet another important milestone in the Albanese Government’s promise to improve the quality of care in aged care homes.
“We promised more carers with more time to care and that’s exactly what we are delivering – an additional 1.8 million care minutes every day across the sector, and an additional 5,800 direct care staff since Labor came into Government.”
“The introduction of mandatory care minutes targets today means that every older person in an aged care home will receive the dedicated care time they need – whether that be for essential medical treatment or help with daily activities.
“We’re ensuring that all aged care residents can have their clinical and personal needs met. Each home’s care minutes targets are based on the needs of their residents, which means homes with higher-need residents will need to deliver more care minutes.”
“We are already seeing a concerted effort from the sector to increase care minutes, and there has been great progress to lift care minutes ahead of the mandatory targets commencing.
“My department and I will continue to work closely with aged care homes, particularly those affected by workforce shortages, to support them to meet their care minutes targets.”
