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The change has significant operational and financial implications. Every reported care minute must now be supported by verifiable evidence. Inaccuracies or shortfalls could affect a provider’s Star Rating, result in funding penalties or trigger compliance action under the Aged Care Quality Standards.

The Care Minutes Performance Statement, submitted as part of the Aged Care Financial Report (ACFR), collects data for reporting on:

• direct care minutes delivered
• associated labour hours and costs
• registered nurse (RN) coverage
• occupied bed days.

Audits must be conducted by an accredited auditor in accordance with the ASAE 3000 assurance standard at the provider’s own cost. The process will reconcile the figures reported in the Care Minutes Performance Statement against source records such as rosters, timesheets, payroll data and agency invoices. To prepare, providers should act now to ensure both compliance and readiness for audit.

The challenge is real

As of June 2025, 40 per cent of all residential providers were not meeting their targets for both total care and RN care minutes. These results affect Star Ratings and may highlight broader risks of non-compliance with care standards.

Financial consequences are also significant. Non-specialised residential aged care providers in metropolitan areas (MMM1) that fail to meet their targets face a funding reduction of up to $33.41 per resident per day. In the April to June 2025 reporting period, 43 per cent of metropolitan providers did not achieve their required targets – and will be directly impacted.

Get audit-ready

Acting early will not only improve compliance but also safeguard funding and reputation. To get audit-ready, aged care providers should:

• Review all roles and duties within your workforce. Check all positions, particularly hybrid and managerial roles, to confirm defined direct care activities are being performed by eligible roles.
• Update all position descriptions. Align them with current care minute definitions and ensure duties and responsibilities are clearly stated.
• Verify qualifications. Confirm all nurses are registered with the Australian Health Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and keep these records current.
• Maintain a clear policy. Develop a version-controlled care minutes policy that clearly states your strategy to meet care minute targets in line with current definitions and requirements. Your strategy should include staffing mix, time allocation and managing staffing shortages. Ensure this is regularly reviewed.
• Model resident needs. Analyse resident numbers and acuity to identify the staffing mix that optimises both care minutes and funding. Your model should be able to assess the impact if that mix changes.
• Check system integration. Ensure rostering, payroll and workforce systems distinguish between direct and non-direct care time and that job titles and role codes are consistent.
• Engage with software providers. Configure clinical and workforce management systems so that data flows efficiently between platforms and is easily reconcilable.
• Monitor performance regularly. Conduct ongoing care minute reviews involving clinical, finance, rostering and other key staff to track progress against targets and address issues early.

Preparing for care minute audits requires cross-team collaboration and sound operational systems. Providers who invest time in aligning data, processes and workforce planning will find the audit process far smoother and more predictable.

Help is available

An aged care provider was struggling to consistently meet mandated care minute requirements while maintaining high-quality resident care. Our Ageing Australia Consultancy Team partnered with the provider to conduct a comprehensive review of staffing patterns, resident acuity and compliance obligations.

We identified inefficiencies in rostering and developed tailored strategies to optimise skill mix and resource allocation. Practical monitoring tools were introduced to track care minutes in real time and targeted training was delivered to empower leadership and frontline teams.

The provider achieved sustainable care minute compliance without compromising quality. Staff reported improved confidence in meeting regulatory requirements and residents benefited from more consistent, person-centred care – which is the end-goal of what we do.