Assessment contacts overview
What is an assessment contact?
An assessment contact is usually a shorter visit than an accreditation site audit or review audit, and looks at a smaller sample of the home’s systems.
An assessment contact is a visit to a home to:
- monitor the home’s performance against the Accreditation Standards including the care and services provided to residents
- supervise and assist a home to undertake continuous improvement
- monitor a home’s progress in resolving not met expected outcomes
- identify whether there is a need for a review audit
- provide additional information or training for the home.
In order to monitor the level of care and service provided to residents, every home receives at least one unannounced visit every year, which is generally an assessment contact (in some cases it may be a review audit).
How often are assessment contacts carried out?
The form and frequency of assessment contacts to homes is decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the level and frequency of supervision required to ensure residents receive appropriate care and services. Homes with current or past history of failure to meet the Accreditation Standards may be visited more frequently than homes with a record of consistent high performance.
What happens on site?
During an assessment contact, aged care assessors visit a home and speak with staff, management, residents and their families, to determine whether the home meets all the Accreditation Standards and expected outcomes. The team is usually on site for one day.
How are residents and representatives involved?
Interviewing residents and their representatives is an essential part of information gathering about a home. It is important that residents and their representatives are able to participate and can express their views concerning the care and services delivered by the home.
Although the team is not required to interview a minimum number of residents or representatives during assessment contacts, they generally interview at least 10% of residents or their representatives. Residents and their representatives may also provide written information to the team if they wish.
If the home has a number of residents who do not speak English, the team may organise an interpreter.
The home ensures those residents or their representatives who wish to speak to the assessment team can do so in private and are assured of confidentiality.
The decision making process
The assessment team writes a report which contains their findings only. A decision as to the home's actual performance against the Accreditation Standards is made separately by an independent decision-maker.
What does the decision include?
The decision includes information on whether the home’s assessment contact arrangements need to be varied and whether a review audit is necessary. The assessment contact decision also includes information about areas the home needs to improve in order to meet the Accreditation Standards.
What information is publicly available?
Decisions and reports about assessment contacts are not publicly available. However, an update to the home’s last audit report will be published on our website if the decision results in a ‘compliance change’ – either:
- the last information published showed that the home had failed to meet the Accreditation Standards and the home has now met all expected outcomes
or
- the home has been on a timetable for improvement and this assessment found that it has not succeeded in meeting all the expected outcomes on time.
To access a report go to Reports on homes.
What other information is available about assessment contacts?
Click here for more information about assessment contacts.