Review audits

What is a review audit?
A review audit is an onsite assessment of the quality of care and services provided to residents by a home, measured against the Accreditation Standards. Review audits are conducted by an assessment team of at least two assessors.

Review audits may be announced or unannounced. They involve a complete review of the home’s systems against all 44 expected outcomes of the Accreditation Standards.

Why are review audits conducted?
A review audit may be conducted if:

  • as a result of an assessment contact, we consider that the approved provider of the home may not be meeting the Accreditation Standards
  • the home was placed on a timetable for improvement after failing to meet the Accreditation Standards and has not succeeded in meeting the standards during the period set by the Accreditation Agency
  • there is a change to the  home, for example, change in key personnel, number of ‘allocated resident places’ or building
  • the Department of Health and Ageing directs the Accreditation Agency to undertake a review audit.

What is the process for a review audit?
A brief summary of the process is as follows:

  • a site visit is conducted by an assessment team
  • the assessment team writes a report
  • the approved provider is provided with the report which they can then respond to if they wish
  • a decision-maker, separate from the team, makes a decision on the home’s performance against the Accreditation Standards and any changes to the home’s accreditation status or period
  • the approved provider is informed of the decision
  • the Department of Health and Ageing is informed
  • the decision and report are published on this website.

It is the responsibility of the approved provider to demonstrate that the residential aged care home meets the Accreditation Standards. Please be aware that providing false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Codes Act 1995.

How are residents involved in a review audit?
The assessment team interviews at least 10 per cent of residents or their representatives during a review audit.

Homes should tell residents and their representatives about the outcomes of a review audit, including information on failure to meet the Accreditation Standards, serious risk and any sanctions imposed by the Department of Health and Ageing.

What are the possible outcomes of a review audit?
A review audit may result the following decisions:

  • to vary the home’s accreditation period
  • to revoke the home’s accreditation
  • not to revoke or vary the home’s accreditation

What does ‘to vary’ mean?
If a residential aged care home fails to meet the Accreditation Standards, its accreditation period may be varied by changing its expiry date. The decision-maker will determine when a further full audit is required and set an expiry date to enable that to happen.

If there are any findings of failure to meet the Accreditation Standards, a timetable for improvement (TFI) is set.

What does ‘to revoke’ mean?
If a home has a signifcant number of expected outcomes not met or serious risk to the health, wellbeing and safety of residents, its accreditation may be revoked as of a specified date. The residential aged care home would no longer be eligible for Government subsidies.

What does ‘not to revoke or vary’ mean?
This means the home will continue to be accredited and its accreditation expiry date will remain the same.
If there are any findings of failure to meet the Accreditation Standards, a timetable for improvement (TFI) is set.

Can the decision be reconsidered or appealed?
The approved provider is entitled to seek reconsideration – by a different decision-maker – of a decision to revoke the home’s accreditation or vary its accreditation period.

If the second decision-maker confirms the original decision, the approved provider can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review. For details about reconsiderations and appeals about decisions, refer to the information sheet on Reconsiderations and appeals.

What is made publicly available after a review audit?
Review audit decisions and Reports on homes can be accessed via the Reports on homes search on the top right hand side of this page.

Reports on Homes
Use the Reports on Homes search on the top right hand side of this page to find the most recent accreditation reports on homes.