Aged Care Code of Conduct

What is the Code of Conduct for Aged Care?

The Code describes how aged care providers and the people providing your care must behave and how you should be treated. If you feel like the people providing your care are not meeting the Code, you have a right to complain. The Aged Care Quality Safety Commission (the Commission) can also take action to deal with behaviour that does not meet the Code.

The Code of Conduct for Aged Care

People who provide care, supports and services in the aged care sector must:

• Act with respect for people’s rights to freedom of expression, self-determination and decision-making in accordance with applicable laws and conventions
• Act in a way that treats people with dignity and respect, and values their diversity
• Act with respect for the privacy of people
• Provide care, supports and services in a safe and competent manner, with care and skill
• Act with integrity, honesty and transparency
• promptly take steps to raise and act on concerns about matters that may impact the quality and safety of care, supports and services
• Provide care, supports and services free from:
  • All forms of violence, discrimination, exploitation, neglect and abuse
  • Sexual misconduct
• Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to:
  • All forms of violence, discrimination, exploitation, neglect and abuse
  • Sexual misconduct.

Who does the Code apply to?

The Code applies to approved providers of residential, home care and flexible care funded by the Australian Government, as well as aged care workers and governing persons of approved providers. Aged care workers include all staff who are employed or engaged by a provider such as managers, care workers, gardeners, cleaners and office staff. Aged care workers also include people employed or engaged by contractors and sub-contractors (such as casual staff or agency staff) of the provider and volunteers of the provider. Governing persons include, for example, board members, Chief Executive Officers and people who have responsibility, or significant influence over planning, directing or controlling the activities of the provider. Providers must help aged care workers and governing persons to understand and follow the Code.

What can I expect under the Code?

You should be treated well and feel safe, always. Your aged care provider and the people who provide your care must act in a way that is respectful, kind and consistent with the behaviours set out in the Code. For example, when you are provided with care, you can expect to:

• be informed, listened to and able to make decisions
• be respected and valued for who you are
• be able to express yourself freely
• be given information in a way you can understand 
• have your privacy maintained 
• be spoken to with kindness and respect
• have your care provided by people who are careful and thoughtful 
• have your care provided by people who are honest and trustworthy 
• have your care provided by people who are experienced, properly trained and competent at their job
• be safe and free from harm
• have the chance to give feedback or make a complaint about your care, without any fear of retribution or negative impacts on your care

For more information about how the Code requires approved providers and their governing persons and aged care workers to behave when providing you with care, supports and services, you can read the guidance for providers and workers on the Commission’s website.