Charter of commitment to service quality

Key relationships

There are many people and organisations with which we have important relationships:

  • The Minister for Ageing is the sole shareholder of the company and has portfolio responsibiilty for ageing and aged care issues in the Australian government
  • Providers of aged care purchase Agency products and receive Agency services
  • Residents of aged care homes, and their families and friends expect us to monitor and report on homes' compliance with the Accreditation Standards
  • The community through taxes, subsidises aged care, and is concerned about the welfare of older Australians
  • The Department of Health and Ageing has responsibilities under the Act as part of the regulatory framework for aged care, and represents the Commonwealth in negotiations with the Agency.

The nature and detail of our obligations in these relationships is spelled out in legislation and other binding instruments such as the Deed of Funding agreement.

Commitment to service quality

The Agency is committed to providing quality products and services. In doing our work, we will:

  • give highest priority to the health, safety and well being of residents in aged care homes
  • be ethical, honest, courteous, professional and respect confidentiality
  • be helpful
  • provide accurate information in plain language
  • work with aged care providers to promote continuous improvement and better practice in aged care homes
  • be accountable for our actions
  • be fair and unbiased in our actions and decision making
  • seek feedback on our products and services and use the information to monitor quality and to continuously improve
  • welcome comments, suggestions and complaints
  • analyse comments and complaints individually, and review collectively to identify and respond to any systemic issues
  • consult, on a regular basis, with representatives of the aged care sector and consumers
  • be customer-focused and efficient
  • meet all our statutory obligations.

At an individual and at a corporate level, we strive to continuously improve.

Customer contact standards

We aim to respond to general enquiries within seven working days. More complex correspondence will be acknowledged within seven working days and responded to within 28 working days.

Complaints will be acknowledged in writing within seven working days and seek to be resolved as quickly as possible, in consultation with the complainant where appropriate.*

Accounts are settled within the trading terms of the supplier.

Wherever possible, we will provide for transactions to be made electronically.

We will provide information or material in hard copy for people who do not have access to the Internet.

*The Agency does not deal directly with complaints about aged care homes. People with complaints about aged care homes may contact the Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance on 1800 550 552.

Review and measures

We will review this charter for relevance, compliance and performance on a regular basis. The commitments in this charter align with our corporate goals and key performance indicators.

The following measures will be used to assist monitoring our compliance with our commitment to service quality:

  • Feedback shows 95 per cent of service providers are satisfied with Company performance
  • 100 per cent compliance with CAC Act, Corporations Law and our Company Constitution 
  • Maintenance of Quality Management System to ensure certification is maintained.