Accreditation is the arrangement established by the Australian Government to verify that aged care homes provide quality care and services.
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The main elements of the accreditation process are:
- self-assessment by the home
- submission of an application
- assessment by a team of registered quality assessors – this includes both desk and site audits
- decision about accreditation by an authorised decision-maker from the Agency (not the assessment team)
- issuing of accreditation certificate
- publishing of decision
- monitoring of ongoing compliance and continuous improvement
- re-application prior to expiry of the home’s existing period of accreditation.
Accreditation is not a one-off event. Once a home is accredited, the provider is required to maintain ongoing compliance with the legislated standards of care and to undertake continuous improvement.
If the home is new – a commencing service – the provider will need to apply for accreditation before any residents are admitted. The application must identify how the new home will meet the Accreditation Standards when it is operating, and give the Agency an undertaking that the new home will undertake continuous improvement.
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The Accreditation Standards are detailed in the Quality of Care Principles 1997. There are four standards.
- Management systems, staffing and organisational development
- Health and personal care
- Resident lifestyle
- Physical environment and safe systems
Each Standard consists of a Principle and a number of expected outcomes. There are 44 expected outcomes across the four Standards.
Click here to view a copy of the Accreditation Standards.
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