Aged care data review must not add admin burden: Ageing Australia
The peak body for aged care providers has warned further changes to reporting risk increasing the burden on aged care operators when they are already struggling under an additional load.
“The reporting requirements [under the new Aged Care Act] for providers, particularly Support at Home providers, have increased well beyond what was expected,” Ageing Australia’s 11-page feedback document reveals.
The comments are part of Ageing Australia’s response to the second phase of consulting on the Government’s Aged Care Data and Reporting Review.
Based on feedback from Ageing Australia members, the feedback document highlights opportunities to improve efficiency and consistency, but says operators face challenges meeting current data and reporting requirements. Low-value and duplicated data must be eliminated before new reporting changes are introduced, operators said.
“A pause on new reporting requirements while this foundational work is completed would demonstrate a genuine commitment to system-level reform,” Ageing Australia said.
What is the review?
In early 2025, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing began reviewing the data aged care providers report to the Government. The University of Queensland (UQ), in partnership with the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), was engaged to conduct the review.
The project aims to inform improvements in the scope, quality, consistency and use of aged care data, and follows the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which highlighted the importance of data in assessing the performance of aged care services and the impact of services on older people.
Phase 1 was conducted from April to November 2025, and looked at financial and workforce data aged care providers report to Government. It recommended the Government develop a new model for aged care data that works across different systems, is business focused, and standardises vocabulary.
Ageing Australia noted that Phase 1 consultation occurred prior to 1 November 2025. “Subsequent changes to reporting requirements mean earlier assumptions should be revisited,” it said.
Phase 2 is being conducted from July 2025 to May 2026, and is reviewing clinical, care needs, quality, and service delivery data.
24 recommendations
Ageing Australia listed data-related concerns raised by aged care providers including:
- Extensive duplication in reporting
- Collection of low value data
- Growing reporting burden
- Introducing new reporting requirements before this review is completed risks embedding duplication and low-value data collection
Under Phase 2, Ageing Australia makes 24 recommendations.
“Future data and reporting arrangements must be purposeful, proportionate and designed to minimise administrative burden while maximising the value of collected data,” it recommends.
“Clinical and care data should primarily support care delivery rather than government reporting.”
Reporting requirements should also strike a balance that avoids “duplicative data entry” and “unfunded administrative burden” for providers.
Ageing Australia recommends aged care data be applicable across the health sector.
“The growing complexity of people’s health needs means clinical and care data must align across health data systems to support integrated care for an ageing population with increasing multimorbidity,” the feedback document states.
These comments echo those made by Chris Blake, CEO of St Vincent’s Health Australia at the LEADERS SUMMIT 2026, who said aged care funding should not be siloed, but applicable across different parts of the the health sector.
The current review will feed into the Government’s Aged Care Data and Digital Strategy 2024-2029, which determines how aged care information is structured, governed and shared.
You can read Ageing Australia’s feedback document here.
