Webinar 7: Designing culturally safe aged care

Rights-Based Reform in Action

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, concluded in 2021, exposed deep flaws in the system, including neglect, abuse, and inadequate attention to cultural needs—particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who often experienced mainstream services as unsafe or disrespectful of their cultural identity, spirituality, and connections to Country.

In response, the Australian Government passed the Aged Care Act 2024, which replaced the outdated 1997 framework with a rights-based model placing older people's dignity, choices, and cultural identity at the centre. Effective from 1 November 2025, the Act defines high-quality care to include cultural safety explicitly, mandates culturally safe assessments via a new single assessment framework, and requires providers to deliver accessible, trauma-aware services tailored to diverse backgrounds.

The stakes are immediate and concrete: aged care providers—operating in a sector already strained by workforce shortages and rising demand—must align policies, training, governance, and physical environments with these obligations. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission now holds expanded powers to monitor compliance, impose penalties, or suspend approvals. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, who represent a small but growing share of aged care users, inaction perpetuates disparities in access and outcomes, including higher risks of inappropriate care leading to poorer health or social isolation.

Non-obvious tensions persist. While the Act and related frameworks aim for 100% workforce completion of cultural safety training, recent progress reports note that such training remains non-mandatory in many areas, risking superficial compliance. Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations argue that 'mainstreaming' risks diluting culturally responsive care, and implementation of key Royal Commission recommendations—like dedicated Aboriginal pathways or priority status for Indigenous providers—has been partial or delayed four years on. Broader demographic shifts add pressure: Australia's ageing population includes rising proportions from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, making cultural safety not just an equity issue but a practical necessity for system sustainability.

Costs of failure are tangible—potential resident harm, legal liabilities, reputational damage for providers, and continued strain on acute health systems from avoidable hospitalisations when cultural mismatches erode trust and early intervention.