Using the aged care act delay to prepare with purpose

By Katie Airey, Senior Manager

The recent announcement that the new Aged Care Act will be delayed until November 2025 has been met with a mix of relief, frustration, and questions. As someone who has worked across aged care consultancy, operations, and regulatory readiness, I view this delay not as a step back, but as a valuable pause – a chance to recalibrate, rethink, and realign.

This is a great opportunity. It offers providers, boards, executive teams, and front-line leaders breathing room. But the question is: what will we do with this time?

Reform fatigue is real—but so is reform readiness

Many providers are feeling the weight of reform fatigue. Since the Royal Commission, we’ve seen a steady stream of changes across pricing models, regulation frameworks, star ratings, and governance. It has taken a toll. The original timeline for the new Aged Care Act—with its sweeping changes to rights-based care, provider responsibilities, and compliance obligations—was ambitious.

The delay to November 2025 may feel like a reprieve, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for a rest. Reform readiness isn’t just about ticking boxes or surviving audits; it’s about building sustainable systems, culture, and leadership that are fit for a new era of aged care.

What the delay really means

The new Act is more than legislation; it’s a shift in philosophy. It reframes aged care as a human rights issue and embeds the voice and experience of older people at its centre. The delay gives us more time to truly embed that philosophy into the way care is designed, delivered, and governed.

What this delay doesn’t mean:

• That reforms are off the table
• That compliance requirements will relax
• That we can slow down our internal reform efforts

What it does mean is:

• We have time to prepare well, not just prepare quickly
• We can engage more meaningfully with consumers, staff, and boards
• We can embed changes in a way that drives genuine impact, not just compliance

Governance and accountability in the spotlight

One of the most significant shifts under the new Act is the heightened accountability of governing bodies. Directors and boards will be more explicitly responsible for ensuring safe, quality care. With the delay, boards and executives should use this time to:

• Strengthen their understanding of aged care legislative obligations
• Review and update governance structures and delegations
• Build stronger risk and quality reporting lines
• Engage in meaningful oversight of consumer experience and outcomes
• Ensure data captured is meaningful and drives positive impact on outcomes for everyone

As someone who has worked closely with boards and executives across the country, I know that good governance doesn’t just happen. It takes training, time, and the right information at the right level of detail.

Investing in capability, not just compliance

One of the risks with any reform is that we focus solely on compliance and miss the bigger picture: capability. The organisations that will thrive under the new Act are not those that simply conform to the standards, but those that invest in leadership, systems, and culture.

Now is the time to:

• Upskill care managers and quality leads in regulatory expectations
• Review workforce structures to support rights-based care
• Embed continuous improvement into day-to-day operations
• Strengthen consumer engagement frameworks.

Technology and data is more important than ever

The new Act and associated reforms (such as the new Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and the expansion of the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program) rely heavily on data. Providers will need to collect, analyse, and respond to consumer feedback, incident trends, quality indicators, and workforce metrics.

Use this time to:

• Review your data systems and quality reporting
• Ensure your workforce has the skills to interpret and act on data
• Use dashboards to support executive and board decision-making
• Align technology investments with the new legislative requirements

Digital transformation isn’t optional; it’s a core enabler of quality care and good governance.

Leading through uncertainty

Delays can breed complacency, or they can ignite strategic focus. Leadership will make all the difference. The next several months are not about waiting; they’re about preparing, empowering, and leading.

As aged care leaders, we need to:

• Communicate the “why” behind reform clearly and consistently
• Support teams through change fatigue
• Celebrate progress, not just compliance
• Keep older people and their experience at the centre of every conversation.

This delay is not a detour. It’s a deliberate pause that gives us space to do better. Let’s use this time to build the sector we all believe in.

If you need assistance, our Quality, Risk, and Compliance Management Team can help offer a clear perspective on maintaining compliance and preventing non-compliance.

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