Aged Care Act 2024 · Strengthened Standards · Support at Home
Read across each row: the requirement, where it sits in the law, and the careplans capability that helps a provider meet and evidence it. careplans is an evidence and enablement tool. It helps providers meet and prove their obligations; it is not a legal mandate and it does not replace accountable human care.
Plain-language guide for providers · not legal advice · 29 June 2026
The Support at Home program manual requires that every participant receives at least one direct care management activity each month, of at least 15 minutes. This applies to home care; it is not in the Aged Care Act and does not apply to residential residents.
| Requirement | The law | How careplans answers it |
|---|---|---|
| At least one direct care management activity per participant each month, of at least 15 minutes (a real call, check-in or meeting). | Support at Home program manual v4.2 | careplansScheduled, time-stamped, documented companion check-in calls that clear the 15-minute floor at scale, with retry and escalation if a person is not reached. |
| A defensible, per-participant record that the activity happened. | Records as a condition of registration | careplansOne record per person per month (completed, refused, unreachable and escalated, or no consent), plus the call summary, ready for audit.careplans feeds the record; the provider's system remains the record of truth. |
The Statement of Rights and the Strengthened Quality Standards (both from 1 November 2025) frame connection and wellbeing qualitatively. The Statement of Rights is not directly court enforceable, so careplans evidences reasonable and proportionate steps; it does not discharge an individual right.
| Requirement | The law | How careplans answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities and assistance to stay connected; strategies to cultivate relationships and social connections. | Act s 23(12); Standard 1, Action 1.1.2(f) | careplansRegular companion calls are direct assistance to stay connected, and form a named, auditable social-connection strategy. |
| Support emotional and psychological wellbeing; assess mental health and quality of life. | Standard 1, Outcome 1.1; Standard 3, Outcome 3.1 | careplansValidated wellbeing measures (WHO-5, PHQ-2, GAD-2, UCLA loneliness) administered conversationally and scored, feeding assessment and the care plan. |
| Treat people with dignity and respect; value identity and culture; be heard; accessible complaints. | Act s 23(3), s 23(7)–(9); Standard 2, Outcomes 2.6a/2.6b | careplansPerson-centred, culturally aware calls with preference capture, and in-call feedback and complaints capture routed to the provider's complaints system. |
These are binding conditions of registration or enforceable outcome statements, tested at audit. Within each Standard, only the outcome statements are enforceable; supporting actions and expectation statements are guidance.
| Requirement | The law | How careplans answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Recognise and respond to deterioration, including psychological and cognitive change, and escalate so the care plan is reviewed. | Standard 3; Standard 5, Outcomes 5.4 and 5.5 | careplansDistress detection during calls with early-warning escalation to on-call staff, and a care-plan-review prompt.Action 5.5.6 (mental health) is a supporting action (guidance); the Outcome 5.5 statement is the binding part. |
| Report reportable incidents: Priority 1 within 24 hours, Priority 2 within 30 days, from provider awareness. | Act ss 16, 164, 165A; Rules 165A-25 / 165A-30 | careplansThe call model surfaces several of the eight reportable-incident types and raises them to the provider's incident pathway with an awareness timestamp.careplans assists detection and timely notification. It does not classify Priority 1 or 2, and does not discharge the SIRS duty. |
| Keep and retain care records; supply quality indicator inputs. | Act s 154; Rules Ch 4 Pt 7 Div 1; ss 166-110 to 166-185 | careplansCall summaries and structured wellbeing data persist to the care record, and Quality-of-Life / Consumer-Experience data supply report inputs.careplans supplies inputs; it does not file the quality indicators report. |
Privacy, consent and disclosure obligations remain in force. The safe position is that technology assists accountable human oversight rather than replacing it.
| Requirement | The law | How careplans answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Tell people when automated or AI-assisted technology is used; disclose recording; offer a human option and opt-out. | Act s 23(7)–(8); privacy and consent | careplansEvery call opens with an AI-assistance and recording disclosure and a human-contact path; consent is captured and maintained per participant. |
| Recognise advocates and the registered supporter role; share information only within recorded authority. | Act s 23(10)–(11); registered supporter | careplansGraduated disclosure mapped to the registered-supporter role, enforcing resident control over who receives call summaries. |
Each careplans capability, what it does, and the requirement it serves.
| Capability | What it does | Requirement served |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly call engine | Durable per-participant, per-month run: call, wait, document, retry, escalate, record. | Support at Home 15-minute monthly; records |
| Wellbeing instruments | WHO-5 / PHQ-2 / GAD-2 / UCLA administered conversationally and scored. | Wellbeing assessment; quality-indicator inputs |
| Distress detection & escalation | Surfaces distress and reportable concerns and raises them to on-call staff with a timestamp. | Deterioration; SIRS notification |
| Call summaries & records | Documents each call into the care record with retention. | Record-keeping |
| Consent & disclosure | Spoken AI/recording disclosure, opt-out, and a per-participant consent record. | Consent; privacy |
| Graduated disclosure | Shares summaries only within recorded supporter / decision-maker authority. | Registered supporter; privacy |
| Monthly compliance record | One auditable row per participant per month with the outcome. | Records; audit readiness |
Only the outcome statements within each Strengthened Standard are legally enforceable; supporting actions and expectation statements are guidance. The Support at Home 15-minute monthly rule applies to home care, not residential. Confirm provisions with Australian aged care regulatory counsel before external reliance.