Digital Transformation Tech Talk – 18 March 2026

Aged Care Digital Overhaul

Australia's aged care sector is in the thick of a forced digital overhaul following the passage and initial implementation of a reformed Aged Care Act in late 2025. The Act, which took effect on 1 November 2025, replaced fragmented rules with a unified framework emphasizing person-centred care, stronger safeguards, and accountability. To make this operational, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has rolled out staged digital changes across core platforms.

These include the My Aged Care portal, the Government Provider Management System (GPMS) for provider registration and payments, and interfaces with Services Australia for funding. By early 2026, providers must handle Support at Home claiming digitally, integrate new staffing and quality indicators, and prepare for enhanced regulatory reporting. The department's Digital Transformation Tech Talks, held regularly including sessions in February and March 2026, serve as key channels to update IT professionals and providers on these evolving requirements.

The urgency stems from the post-Act landscape. Aged care providers—ranging from large not-for-profits to small regional operators—now operate under tighter federal oversight. Digital systems are no longer optional; they underpin everything from resident assessments to government subsidies. Delays in system readiness could mean interrupted payments or failure to meet mandatory reporting, directly affecting cash flow and accreditation.

Non-obvious frictions include the uneven playing field this creates. Larger providers with in-house IT capacity adapt faster, potentially consolidating market share, while smaller ones grapple with integration costs and training deficits. Cybersecurity risks also rise as more sensitive health data flows digitally, aligning with broader national pushes for secure interoperability under the National Digital Health Strategy 2023-2028.

Broader health digital efforts reinforce this. The Australian Digital Health Agency's 2025-2026 corporate plan prioritizes modernizing infrastructure like My Health Record, advancing FHIR standards for data exchange, and embedding cybersecurity. In aged care specifically, the focus is on enabling real-time information sharing to support new care models, but this demands providers upgrade legacy systems amid workforce shortages and budget constraints.