How do I find an Aged Care Operator?

By now you will be close to deciding on an aged care home.

It is important to understand who the operator is because:

There are over 2,900 aged care homes and over 800 different operators across Australia.

There are a few large operators but the majority are small operators, covering a small geographic area.

Aged care homes (nursing homes) that perform at high standards and pass regular audits receive substantial government funding.  Because of this, all are heavily regulated.  See Get Informed Chapter 1.5 

In effect, the operators have two customers – the Government and aged care residents – with both providing them funds for services.

The primary roles of the operator are to:

Provide the buildings and facilities that match or exceed the government requirements and standards to receive funding

Provide medical care and physical support services that match or exceed the government’s requirements and standards to receive funding

The important point is that all aged care homes will operate to the standards set by Government.

What you need to judge is the level of care they will provide you.

The size of the operator, the number of homes they operate can mean they are more able to invest in better training systems and technology.  However smaller operators can deliver more owner involvement and personal care. 

At the end of the day, it is the leadership of each home that dictates the quality of the care and you will be able to sense this when you visit the individual home and talk to the staff and the residents - which is your right to do.

Length of time the management has been at that home is also important.

The standards and controls the Government applies to individual aged care homes is covered extensively in Get Informed.

In summary there are four ‘accreditation standards’ and 44 ‘expected outcomes’ that Government auditors check, using planned and surprised visits. The four broad standards are:

The performance of each home is listed on the my aged care website.

Measuring ‘quality’ of care can be extremely subjective.

We do not attempt to rate or support a rating system on agedcare101. 

In January 2016 the Government introduced the national Aged Care Quality Indicator Programme. The Government has identified quality three indicators of:

1. Pressure injuries, such as bed sores
2. Use of physical restraints
3. Unplanned weight loss

It is a non compulsory programme. Many operators argue it is a limited and poor guide to quality and  have not participated.

Once again, your visit to the home is the best method of judging the quality of care being provided.

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