Support contacts

What is a support contact?
A support contact is usually a shorter visit than an accreditation site audit or review audit, and looks at a smaller sample of the residential aged care home’s systems.

A support contact is a visit to a residential aged care home to:

• monitor a home’s compliance with the Accreditation Standards and other responsibilities under the Aged Care Act 1997
• supervise a residential aged care home’s process of continuous improvement
• assist a residential aged care home to undertake continuous improvement
• monitor a residential aged care home’s progress against a timetable for improvement or other program to remedy previously identified non-compliance
• identify whether there is a need for a review audit
• provide additional information or training for the residential aged care home.

The form and frequency of support contacts to residential aged care homes is decided on a case-by-case basis. The Agency considers the particular circumstances of the residential aged care home and the level and frequency of supervision required. Residential aged care homes with non-compliance or with a past history of non-compliance may be visited more frequently than residential aged care homes with a record of consistent high performance.

Occasionally a support contact may be carried out by telephone.

Support contacts may be announced or unannounced. The Australian Government has introduced a program whereby each residential aged care home receives at least one unannounced support contact during the financial year.

What must the residential aged care home provide before a support contact?
On a case-by-case basis we may request a progress report, an updated plan for continuous improvement or other information. In providing a progress report, the approved provider may be asked to assess and comment on the progress of any improvement plan in place.

What happens during a support contact?
The scope of a support contact may be an assessment module, case-specific matters, or both. Case specific matters may include evaluation of progress in relation to addressing non-compliance or information we have received from the Department of Health and Ageing.

Although we assess the systems of residential aged care homes against the Standards, including in relation to information received from the Department, we do not investigate particular complaints.

The visit is an opportunity for the residential aged care home to demonstrate compliance with the Accreditation Standards, and therefore involvement of management and staff is essential.

It is the responsibility of the approved provider to demonstrate the residential aged care home complies with the Accreditation Standards. Please be aware that providing false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Codes Act 1995.

How are residents involved in a support contact?
The assessment team generally interviews residents and their representatives during a support contact.

Residential aged care homes are encouraged to tell residents/representatives about the outcomes of a support contact, including information on non-compliance, serious risk and sanctions.

What happens after a support contact?
The assessment team writes a report following the support contact. This record includes information about the residential aged care home’s performance against the Accreditation Standards and progress in undertaking continuous improvement. Before the decision is made, the residential aged care home may be invited to submit a response to the support contact record. This may occur when non-compliance, or other negative issues have been identified.

If the decision-maker finds the residential aged care home does not comply, the residential aged care home may be put on a timetable for improvement, or a review audit may be conducted.

Within 14 days of the support contact, the approved provider is informed of our decision to confirm or to vary the arrangements for future support contacts and advise if a review audit will be undertaken.

If the residential aged care home was previously on a timetable for improvement, and if the non-compliance remains at the end of the timetable for improvement, the Agency must recommend to the Department of Health and Ageing that sanctions be imposed.

What information is publicly available?
Once a residential aged care home does comply, an update to the existing decision cover page is published on our website. Updates are also published if the residential aged care home fails to fix non-compliance at the end of a timetable for improvement.

To access a report go to Reports on homes.