AGED CARE STANDARDS
The Standards and Guidelines for Residential Aged Care Services were developed to assist service providers to comply with their obligations under the Aged Care Act 1997.
The Standards reflect the quality of management and services expected of an Aged Care home.
Residential Aged Care homes are assessed against the Aged Care Standards to determine their suitability for accreditation by the Australian Government's Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency.
The Standards provide a structured approach to the management of quality. They give clear statements of expected performance and provide criteria to evaluate how well a service is performing and to identify gaps or opportunities for improvement.
Homes are assessed against four Accreditation Standards:
Standard 1 — management systems, staffing and organisational development.
Standard 2 — health and personal care.
Standard 3 — resident lifestyle.
Standard 4 — physical environment.
The standards examine the overall quality of services provided and, in particular, the extent to which an individual resident's needs are met.