The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) is intensifying its regulatory enforcement against aged care providers who fail to meet mandatory care minute targets. Recently, the regulator issued enforceable undertakings to 27 residential aged care homes and 11 providers that have consistently fallen short of the required care minutes over multiple quarters.
With sanctions, financial penalties, and the potential revocation of aged care services now in play, providers should take immediate steps to ensure compliance and avoid serious consequences.
Understanding Enforceable Undertakings
An enforceable undertaking is a legally binding agreement between an aged care provider and the regulator, outlining the steps the provider must take to return to compliance. If a provider fails to comply, they may face:
- Sanctions, including the loss of approval to provide aged care services
- Restrictions on funding and subsidies
- Court orders mandating compliance or financial penalties
The ACQSC has made it clear that this crackdown is just the beginning, with more enforcement actions likely for non-compliant providers in the near future. With increased government oversight and stricter regulations, aged care providers should act now to meet care minute requirements.
Care Minute Non-Compliance: A Growing Concern
Since 1 October 2023, aged care providers have been required to meet mandatory care minute targets, which increased on 1 October 2024 to a sector-wide average of 215 minutes of care per resident per day, including 44 minutes of registered nurse (RN) care.
The ACQSC has made it clear that providers failing to meet these targets—and showing no meaningful effort to comply—could face sanctions and financial penalties.
In a recent media release, Commissioner Janet Anderson reinforced this stance, stating:
“All residential aged care providers are on notice as the Commission will continue to actively monitor, engage with, and take regulatory action against providers that persistently fall well short of their care minute requirements.”
Upcoming Changes to Care Minute Funding
The Australian Government is introducing significant changes to how care minutes are funded for non-specialised residential aged care providers in metropolitan areas. Services that do not meet their care minutes targets from October 2025 may see their funding reduce from April 2026 by up to $31.64 per resident per day (based on the current AN-ACC price of $280.01). Providers that fail to meet their targets will see funding reductions, with adjustments based on performance from the October–December 2025 reporting period onwards.
All residential aged care providers will be required to have an audit of their care time and associated expense reporting, undertaken at the end of the financial year by an external auditor. Providers will be required to submit the first care time audit as part of their Aged Care Financial Report (ACFR) for 2025-26.
The Department of Health and Aged Care will consult with sector stakeholders on draft Aged Care Rules before these changes take effect, ensuring providers have time to prepare.
Summary of Changes:
- Care funding will be linked to the delivery of care minutes through a new care minutes
Supplement. - This funding change will apply to non-specialised services in metropolitan areas only. There will not be any funding changes to services with Specialised Homeless status and those operating in regional, rural and remote areas.
- Metropolitan areas are defined by services operating in Monash Model (MM)1 area. Over 60% of aged care services are located in MM1.
- Under this funding change, the amount of Base Care Tariff (BCT) funding for MM1 non-specialised services will be reduced by 0.113 of the National Weighted Activity Unit (NWAU) from 1 April 2026. This amounts to $31.64 per bed per day based on the current AN-ACC price of $280.01.
- The equivalent of this BCT funding will be redirected into a new care minutes supplement. Providers will receive some or all of the care minutes supplement depending on their care minutes performance.
- From 1 April 2026, the maximum amount of supplement payable will be equivalent to the reduction in the BCT funding (0.113 NWAU).
- If providers meet their care minute targets, they will not see any change in the funding they receive.
Why These Changes Are Being Introduced
Despite a 58% increase in daily care funding since September 2022, compliance rates remain alarmingly low. In the April–June 2024 quarter, only 41% of aged care services met their care minute targets, with compliance rates dropping to 38% for metropolitan providers.
This is especially concerning given the sector’s claims that workforce shortages are most severe in regional, rural, and remote areas, yet metropolitan services continue to have the lowest compliance rates.
The government’s funding adjustments aim to enforce greater accountability, ensuring that its substantial investment in residential aged care results in more direct care for residents, as originally intended. This change will also prevent public funding from being allocated to care minutes that are not actually delivered.
Why Care Minute Compliance Matters
1. Protecting Residents’ Well-being
Mandatory care minutes ensure that older Australians receive the level of care they need, leading to better health outcomes and quality of life.
2. Avoiding Penalties and Sanctions
With the Aged Care Commission actively monitoring compliance, providers who fail to meet care minute targets could face financial penalties, reputational damage, and operational restrictions.
3. Securing Future Funding
From October 2025, care minute funding will be directly tied to care minute delivery. Providers that fail to comply risk losing funding, affecting financial sustainability.
4. Managing Workforce and Compliance Challenges
Meeting these increasing care minute requirements requires careful workforce planning, efficient rostering, and real-time compliance tracking. Providers who rely on manual reporting methods risk falling behind and facing penalties.
How Acredia Helps Providers Meet Care Minute Targets
Ensuring compliance with care minute requirements doesn’t have to be complex or overwhelming. Acredia offers smart technology solutions that help aged care providers track, manage, and optimise care delivery in real-time.
> Real-Time Care Minute Tracking
Acredia’s platform enables providers to:
- Monitor live care minute delivery per resident and staff member
- Identify shortfalls early and adjust staffing in real time
- Automatically log care minutes through digital workflows
> Efficient Workforce Planning
- Optimise staff allocation across RNs, ENs, and personal care workers (PCWs)
- Prevent overburdening staff while maintaining compliance
- Ensure staffing models remain financially viable
> Seamless Compliance and Reporting
- Automate care minute reports for submission to the Department of Health and Aged Care
- Track historical compliance trends and forecast future staffing needs
- Reduce administrative burden with digital documentation
> Care Direct App for Instant Documentation
- Staff can record care activities instantly
- No manual paperwork—data is automatically logged and integrated
- Ensures accurate, real-time documentation of care minutes
> Flexible Care Minute Management
- Customisable tracking and reporting for care minutes
- Adaptable workforce management tools to accommodate changing staffing needs
- Integration with rostering and scheduling systems
Future-Proofing Aged Care with Acredia
With care minute funding tied to compliance from October 2025, aged care providers should adopt a proactive, data-driven approach to workforce and compliance management.
Acredia’s intelligent solutions help providers stay ahead of regulatory changes, reduce administrative burdens, and improve operational efficiency.
✔ Enhance operational efficiency
✔ Reduce safety risks
✔ Improve regulatory compliance
✔ Focus on delivering exceptional care
Don’t Wait for Regulatory Action—Ensure Compliance Today
The time to act is now. Contact Acredia to discover how our innovative solutions can help your facility meet care minute targets, improve efficiency, and provide the highest standard of care for residents.
