The 60‑Day Aged Care Act Readiness Sprint

Small aged care providers face a rights‑based regulatory shake‑up in 2025. Here’s a practical, eight‑part playbook—told through the journey of a regional provider—that tightens consumer rights, supported decision‑making, complaints handling, clinical governance, incident management and provider governance before the Commission comes calling.

1) Introduction: The Compliance Wake‑Up Call

“We’re great at care, but can we prove it?” That was the question Priya, owner of a 60‑bed home, asked her leadership team after reading about a new rights‑based Aged Care Act and Draft Rules landing in 2025. The message was blunt: stricter obligations, more evidence, and harsher penalties for non‑compliance. The Royal Commission’s findings and workforce pressures had already stretched her business—now the bar was rising.

Risk alert: Gaps in documented evidence for consent, complaints resolution, incidents and board oversight will be red flags in Commission assessments—and can trigger compliance action.

Priya drew a line in the sand: “Document your business or get out.” The team agreed to run a 60‑day readiness sprint.

2) Challenge: Rights, Consent and Supported Decision‑Making

The provider’s Statement of Rights was dated. Consent lived in paper folders; supported decision‑making steps varied by clinician. Remote casual staff asked, “Which consent template do I use for telehealth? Where’s the substitute decision‑maker logic?” Priya realized the issue wasn’t intent; it was inconsistent evidence and access.

What was at stake

Consumer rights must be explicit, visible and acknowledged.
Consent must be informed, current, and recorded—especially where cognitive impairment or substitute decision‑makers are involved.
Staff need clear, repeatable instructions—no matter where they work.

3) Challenge: Complaints and Incidents Without a Single Source of Truth

Complaints came via email, front‑desk forms and phone notes. Incidents were logged in three systems. The quality manager spent Fridays reconciling spreadsheets for the board, and clinical governance meetings debated “which numbers are right.”

Symptoms of risk

Delayed acknowledgment to complainants and inconsistent resolution timelines.
Missed clinical follow‑up actions and incomplete incident investigations.
No auditable trail for the Commission to verify end‑to‑end handling.

Intent was high; evidence was low. Time to build the single source of truth.

4) Move: Appoint a Cross‑Functional Transition Lead and Launch a 60‑Day Review

Priya appointed a respected RN as Transition Lead reporting to her and the board chair. The brief: map Draft Rules to reality—policies, workflows and digital records—and close gaps fast.

Week 0–2: Map the rules to your business

Crosswalk the Draft Rules and strengthened quality standards to policies, forms and workflows.
Identify gaps in consumer rights materials, consent capture, complaints handling, incident management and provider governance.
Prioritise red‑flag risks where evidence is weakest.

Week 2–4: Design for proof, not promises

Define what “good evidence” looks like: timestamps, linked records, decision rationales, consumer acknowledgments.
Choose a workflow tool or upgrade your existing QMS/EHR to capture required data fields and audit trails.
Create a board‑level dashboard tied to clinical governance and risk registers.

5) Build: Documented Systems that Remote Teams Can Follow

They turned scattered SOPs into a living playbook. Every process had an owner, a purpose, screenshots, and decision trees. “If it isn’t documented, it doesn’t exist.”

Make documentation the single source of truth

Statement of Rights refresh: Plain‑English brochure, posters on site, digital PDF with acknowledgment capture.
Consent templates: Standard forms for general, clinical, medication and telehealth—each with supported decision‑making prompts.
Complaints workflow: One intake channel auto‑routes to the right team; SLAs measured; complainant updates templated.
Incident management: Root cause template, corrective actions, clinical follow‑up and notification guidance.
Provider governance: Board calendar, risk appetite statement, and a monthly compliance pack.

Remote workers following instructions

Casuals accessed mobile SOPs with short videos and checklists. No guessing. No local “shadow processes.”

6) Test and Prove: Evidence Beats Intent

The team ran end‑to‑end simulations as if the Commission had arrived.

Three drills

Consent drill: A resident with cognitive impairment needs a new treatment plan. Staff use the decision‑maker flowchart, record conversations, capture consent, and link it to the care plan.
Complaints drill: A family emails about meal quality. The system logs it, sends acknowledgement, assigns an owner, captures resolution notes and closes with the family’s satisfaction rating.
Incident drill: A fall triggers clinical review, incident investigation, corrective actions and board notification thresholds.

Each drill produced an auditable trail: timestamps, tasks, attachments and sign‑offs. The board reviewed a refreshed risk register with new controls and owners.

7) Outcome: From Red Flags to Readiness

Within 60 days, Priya’s provider moved from scattered records to verifiable compliance. Staff confidence rose, duplication fell, and the mock review found no critical gaps in rights, consent, complaints or incidents.

Measurable wins

Complaint acknowledgment time: 3 days to same‑day.
Incident close‑out: Down 40% with complete RCA notes.
Consent documentation: 100% linked to care plans with supported decision‑making fields completed.
Board oversight: Monthly dashboard and risk register updates embedded in clinical governance meetings.

“We didn’t just meet the standard—we can prove we meet it.” —Priya, Owner

8) Takeaway: Act Now—Your 60‑Day Checklist

Appoint a cross‑functional Transition Lead with a clear mandate and direct board access.
Map Draft Rules and strengthened standards to your current policies and digital workflows.
Refresh your Statement of Rights and consent templates; bake in supported decision‑making.
Consolidate complaints and incident workflows into one system with audit trails.
Upgrade provider governance: board reporting, clinical governance cadence and risk registers.
Drill it end‑to‑end; evidence, not intention, is what counts.

Australia’s new rights‑first framework is coming in 2025. The providers that win will be the ones who treat compliance as a capability—documented, coached and measured—so every team member, on‑site or remote, follows the same playbook.

The 60‑Day Aged Care Act Readiness Sprint