Support contacts

About support contacts
As part of its supervision and monitoring role the Agency carries out support contacts, taking into consideration the individual circumstances of each home. They are an important element in the Agency’s ongoing monitoring of standards of care provided in homes.

Support contacts are conducted by registered aged care quality assessors.

Support contacts are conducted for the purposes of:
  • monitoring a home’s compliance with the Accreditation Standards and other responsibilities under the Aged Care Act 1997
  • supervising a home’s process of continuous improvement
  • assisting a home to undertake continuous improvement
  • monitoring a home’s progress against a Timetable for Improvement or other program to remedy previously identified non-compliance
  • identifying whether there is a need for a review audit
  • providing additional information or training.
The form and frequency of support contacts to homes is decided on a case-by-case basis. The Agency considers the particular circumstances of the home and the level and frequency of supervision required. Homes with non-compliance or with a past history of non-compliance may be visited more frequently than homes with a record of consistent high performance.
Support contacts may be announced or unannounced. All homes will receive at least one unannounced visit per year focussed on care for residents.  

What must the home provide before a support contact?
On a case-by-case basis the Agency may identify the need for a progress report, an updated Plan for continuous improvement or other information to be provided by the home.

In providing a progress report, the provider may be asked to assess and comment on progress on any improvement plan in place. Please be aware that providing false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Codes Act 1995.

How are the support contact findings recorded?
A Support contact record is written by the assessment team and given to the Agency following every support contact. The record includes information about the home’s performance against the Accreditation Standards and progress in undertaking continuous improvement.

The provider will be sent a copy of the Support contact record and a letter outlining arrangements for future support contacts.

The Support contact record is not published. It is sent to the provider and in some cases to the Department of Health and Ageing.

What decisions can be made after a support contact?
Once the assessment team submits its Support contact record to the Agency, an authorised decision maker considers it and decides whether or not the home is complying with its obligations, and whether to confirm or vary planned support contacts.

The provider is informed in writing of the Agency’s decisions.

If non-compliance with the Accreditation Standards is found, the Agency must:
  • identify the matters which must be improved to ensure compliance with the Accreditation Standards
  • place the home on a Timetable for Improvement
  • implement a program of support contacts to assess progress in making improvements.
The Agency may decide to conduct a review audit if there is non-compliance or if it has reasonable grounds to believe that there may not be compliance with the Accreditation Standards.

If, at the end of a timetable for improvement, a home continues to be non-compliant with the Accreditation Standards, the Agency must give the provider and the Department of Health and Ageing information about the non-compliance and must recommend to the Department that sanctions be imposed.

What is published?
The Agency does not publish the Support contact record but if there is a change in compliance, either non-compliance is resolved or the home fails to rectify non-compliance within a timetable for improvement, the Agency will publish revised compliance details showing the latest findings on its website.