Who must comply with Serious Incident Response Scheme (aged care)?
The applicability test for Comply with Serious Incident Response Scheme (aged care) (ACQSC), computed across 35 industries, 9 business structures and 6 size bands.
Short answer: Some businesses
Applies when the business has approved aged care provider status.
What the obligation is
Residential and home-care providers must notify Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission of priority 1 incidents within 24 hours.
Sections 53-1A onwards of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act and Quality of Care Principles establish SIRS. Eight incident types (e.g. unreasonable use of force, sexual assault, neglect, missing consumer, psychological abuse). Priority 1 notifications within 24 hours, follow-up reports within 5 business days. Home care SIRS commenced 1 December 2022.
The applicability test
Applies when the business has approved aged care provider status.
How the regulator frames it: Approved aged care providers (residential and home care).
What triggers it: Occurrence of a reportable incident.
Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.
Which industries are in or out
Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (1 of 35: yes; 34 of 35: no).
| Industry | Answer |
|---|---|
| Aged care providers | Yes |
| No | 34 other industries |
Business structure and size
Structure does not change the answer in aged care providers: for every structure the answer is "yes".
Size does not change the answer in aged care providers: at every size band the answer is "yes".
Worked examples
Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:
- Pty Ltd company in aged care providers with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: applies. Aged care provider.
- Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires approved aged care provider status.
Answers that bring it into scope
Starting from a small or large professional services company that does not otherwise meet the test, each of these single facts changes the engine's answer:
- The business is an approved aged care provider: it then applies (approved aged care provider).
What you must do, and when
- When due
- Priority 1 within 24 hours; follow-up within 5 business days.
- Frequency
- When a triggering event occurs
- Evidence to keep
- Notification via My Aged Care portal, incident investigation, control review.
- Status
- Current
- Priority
- Critical
Penalty for not complying
Maximum penalty: Civil penalties for non-notification; sanctions; loss of approved provider status.
Audit or assurance level
Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.
Enforcement examples
Obligations with the same applicability test
If this obligation applies to you, so do these 4: the engine uses the same rule for each.
What usually applies alongside it
Across the 1,890 business profiles Rules Mate evaluates, these obligations apply to most of the businesses this one applies to, and are far more common among them than among businesses generally:
Where it sits in the corpus
Rules Mate tracks 8 published obligations tagged "aged care", 7 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated critical priority, and is triggered by events.
Regulator, legislation and tools
Regulated by Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
ACQSC: Aged care provider regulation under the new Aged Care Act (in force from 1 November 2025). Standards, complaints, and serious incident response.
Aged Care Act 2024: New federal aged care Act in force 1 November 2025 (replaces 1997 Act).
Free tools that help with this obligation:
Questions
- Who must comply with Serious Incident Response Scheme (aged care)?
- Applies when the business has approved aged care provider status.
- Do sole traders need to comply with Serious Incident Response Scheme (aged care)?
- Yes. Looking in aged care providers and every size band, the engine's answer for a sole trader is: yes.
- Do businesses with 1–5 employees need to comply with Serious Incident Response Scheme (aged care)?
- Yes (1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M).
- When is "Comply with Serious Incident Response Scheme (aged care)" due?
- Priority 1 within 24 hours; follow-up within 5 business days.
Related
Sources
Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.