Just over half of metropolitan aged care homes are meeting both of the Australian Government’s mandatory care minute targets, despite financial penalties set to begin in less than six months.
New data for the June 2025 quarter shows 54% of metro providers achieved both targets – up from 49% in the previous quarter and 40% a year earlier.
Meanwhile, 24/7 Registered Nurse coverage continues to improve. In August, 96% of homes met the requirement, compared with 95% in July and 93% the year prior.
From April 2026, metropolitan providers that fail to meet mandatory care minute targets will face financial penalties based on data submitted for the December 2025 quarter.
However, compliance remains uneven. In the 2024-25 UTS Ageing Research Collaborative report, Professor Mike Woods noted that “there remain financial incentives for some providers to wear the penalty and still come out ahead financially.”
The funding reforms follow a regulatory crackdown by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. In December 2024, the Commission warned it would target homes showing an “absence of tangible effort” to reach care minute thresholds. 27 homes were issued enforceable undertakings – all of which have since been lifted after reaching compliance.
