New Aged Care Act: What Aged Care Providers (& Suppliers) Must Do to Demonstrate Compliance
- Oscar Ops
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Australia's aged care sector has entered a new era. See how Eaco is helping Aged Care Providers like Mayflower, and Aged Care Suppliers like ServiceFM and Assura, meet the new compliance requirements under the new Aged Care Act.
With the introduction of the Aged Care Act 2024 (now released in 2026), the Aged Care Rules, and the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, providers face the most significant regulatory reforms in decades.
The new framework fundamentally changes how compliance is assessed.
Previously, providers could often demonstrate compliance through policies, procedures, and periodic accreditation activities.
Today, regulators increasingly expect something more powerful:
Evidence.
Evidence that facilities are maintained.
Evidence that risks are managed.
Evidence that contractors are compliant.
Evidence that corrective actions are completed.
Evidence that governance oversight exists.
For aged care providers, compliance is no longer a separate function.
It has become an operational discipline.
And that's exactly where Eaco helps.
What Changed Under The New Aged Care Act?
The new Aged Care Act was introduced following recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and establishes a stronger rights-based framework for older Australians.
The reforms introduce:
Stronger provider accountability
Enhanced governance obligations
Greater focus on risk management
Continuous compliance monitoring
More measurable quality standards
Stronger expectations around evidence and documentation
Useful references:
Rather than asking providers whether a process exists, regulators increasingly ask:
"Show us how you know it's happening."
That single question is driving a major shift in operational technology across the sector.
Why Standard 4 Is Creating New Operational Challenges
Of all the new requirements, Standard 4 - The Environment may have the biggest impact on facilities, maintenance, and operations teams.
The standard requires providers to ensure that facilities, infrastructure, equipment and physical environments remain safe, functional and fit for purpose.
In practice, this means maintaining evidence of:
Maintenance requests
Planned preventative maintenance
Asset inspections
Fire safety testing
Contractor attendance
Building compliance
Hazard rectification
Corrective actions
Equipment servicing
Many providers still manage these activities through a combination of:
Email
Spreadsheets
Paper forms
Shared drives
Contractor reports
The problem?
These systems rarely provide the audit trail required under the new framework.
Every Work Order Is Now Compliance Evidence
A leaking tap.
A broken handrail.
A fire door inspection.
A nurse call system fault.
Historically these were just maintenance tasks.
However, under the new standards, they're also compliance records.
Providers increasingly need to demonstrate:
When an issue was identified
Who was assigned responsibility
What actions were taken
When the work was completed
What evidence supports completion
Eaco's Works Management Platform creates a complete audit trail from issue identification through to resolution.
With Eaco's Works Management solution, providers can:
Create and manage digital work orders
Assign work instantly
Track progress in real time
Capture photos and completion evidence
Record GPS check-ins
Maintain a permanent service history
Learn more:
Works Management: https://www.eaco.me/worksmangement
Facility Management Software: https://www.eaco.me/facilitymanagementsoftware
Eaco has already facilitated more than 2 million work orders across complex property and facilities environments.
Asset Management Is No Longer Optional
The strengthened standards place increased emphasis on maintaining safe environments and ensuring assets remain fit for purpose.
For aged care providers, that means visibility across:
Medical equipment
Building infrastructure
Fire systems
HVAC systems
Security systems
Resident facilities
Common area assets
Eaco's Asset Management Platform provides a single source of truth for every asset.
Providers can maintain:
Asset registers
Maintenance histories
Warranty information
Inspection records
Lifecycle plans
Compliance documentation
Eaco's Asset Cloud enables organisations to track assets from acquisition through to replacement while maintaining complete maintenance and compliance histories.
Learn more:
Asset Management: https://www.eaco.me/assetmanagement
Contractor Compliance Has Become A Governance Issue
Most aged care providers rely heavily on external service providers.
Fire contractors.
Electrical contractors.
Cleaning contractors.
Mechanical contractors.
Maintenance providers.
The challenge is that providers remain accountable even when work is outsourced.
Under the new framework, organisations must demonstrate that contractors remain qualified, insured and compliant.
Eaco's Contractor Management Platform helps providers:
Track contractor licences
Monitor insurance expiry dates
Verify certifications
Manage inductions
Profile contractor capabilities
Automatically match the right contractor to the right work
Automated compliance reminders help organisations remain audit-ready without relying on spreadsheets or calendar reminders.
Learn more:
Contractor Management: https://www.eaco.me/contractormanagement
Continuous Compliance Requires Continuous Visibility
One of the biggest changes introduced by the reforms is the move toward continuous compliance.
Providers need visibility into operational performance every day, not just during accreditation periods.
Eaco helps organisations maintain real-time oversight through:
Compliance tracking
Work order management
Asset performance monitoring
Contractor management
Risk management workflows
Incident reporting
Executive dashboards
Eaco's Safety Cloud centralises compliance management with automated tracking of licences, insurances, certifications, reminders and safety documentation.
This creates a living compliance environment rather than a periodic compliance project.
Supporting The Aged Care Sector Directly And Indirectly
Eaco is already helping organisations across the aged care ecosystem.
Directly, aged care providers such as Mayflower utilise Eaco to support operational excellence across facilities, assets, maintenance and service delivery.
Indirectly, Eaco powers many of the service organisations that support aged care providers every day.
Leading facilities management and property services organisations use Eaco as their operating platform for:
Work order management
Contractor management
Asset management
Compliance tracking
Service delivery reporting
This includes organisations delivering maintenance, cleaning, facilities management and compliance services into aged care environments nationwide.
As a result, Eaco supports aged care compliance from both sides of the ecosystem:
The providers delivering care
The service providers maintaining the environments where care is delivered
Compliance Is No Longer About Documentation
The biggest lesson from the new Aged Care Act is simple.
Compliance is no longer measured by the quality of a policy document.
It is measured by operational evidence.
Every work order.
Every contractor visit.
Every asset inspection.
Every maintenance activity.
Every corrective action.
Every compliance task.
The providers best positioned for success under the new framework will be those that embed compliance directly into their daily operations.
That's exactly what Eaco was built for.
Explore Eaco
Home: https://www.eaco.me/
Works Management: https://www.eaco.me/worksmangement
Asset Management: https://www.eaco.me/assetmanagement
Contractor Management: https://www.eaco.me/contractormanagement
Facility Management Software: https://www.eaco.me/facilitymanagementsoftware
Service Provider Software: https://www.eaco.me/service-provider-software
Blog: https://www.eaco.me/blog
Because compliance shouldn't live in a spreadsheet.
It should live in the way your organisation operates.
