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Understanding aged care facility compliance history

Every aged care facility is audited by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Here's how to read the audit results — and what non-compliance actually means in practice.

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5 min readUpdated April 2026Free for families
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Why it matters

Approximately one in seven residential aged care facilities in Australia failed their most recent compliance audit. Government approval alone does not mean a facility is safe.

The compliance record tells you whether a facility has been independently audited and found to have breached the Aged Care Quality Standards. Understanding what you are reading makes the difference between a reassuring result and a reason to look elsewhere.

Who audits aged care facilities?

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) is the independent government regulator that audits all residential aged care facilities in Australia. It conducts both scheduled and unannounced assessments.

The Commission assesses facilities against the Aged Care Quality Standards — a set of eight standards covering areas including consumer dignity, ongoing assessment, personal care, safety, and organisational governance.

What the different compliance outcomes mean

No notices
Best outcome
The facility met all requirements assessed during the review period. This is the expected baseline — it does not guarantee quality, but it does confirm that no significant breaches were found.
Non-compliance notice
Warrants investigation
The facility was found to have breached one or more of the Aged Care Quality Standards. The key questions are: what standard was breached, when was it issued, and has it been resolved? A historical minor notice is very different from a recent serious one.
Sanction
Serious — investigate carefully
A sanction represents a significant failure — the government has placed restrictions on what the facility can do, including limiting new admissions or requiring additional oversight. A current or recent sanction is a serious red flag.
Banning order
Most serious
An individual worker or provider has been legally prohibited from working in aged care. This is rare and represents the most serious regulatory action. A facility linked to a banning order warrants very careful consideration.

How to find a facility's compliance record

Compliance records are publicly available in two places:

My Aged Care website
Search by facility name or location. The star rating display includes a compliance domain score and links to the formal Commission record.
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website
The ACQSC publishes all compliance decisions, including the specific standards breached, dates of notices, and current status. Search at agedcarequality.gov.au.

Questions to ask a facility about their compliance record

Q“Have you received any non-compliance notices in the past two years — and if so, what for?”
Q“Are any of those notices still open or unresolved?”
Q“What changes did you make as a result of the finding?”
Q“Has the Commission visited unannounced in the last 12 months, and what was the outcome?”
How WithSally helps

We review compliance records before recommending any facility

Every facility WithSally recommends has been reviewed against the ACQSC record. Active compliance notices or recent sanctions disqualify a facility from our shortlist. Tell us your situation and we'll do the homework for you.

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