Aged Care Code of Conduct: 8 Worker Obligations Explained

The Code of Conduct for Aged Care is a cornerstone of the Aged Care Act 2024. It sets out the minimum standards of behaviour expected of every person who works in aged care — from personal care workers and nurses to managers, directors, contractors, and volunteers. Unlike voluntary codes of ethics, the aged care Code of Conduct is a statutory obligation with enforceable consequences for non-compliance.

For providers, the Code of Conduct creates a dual obligation: first, to ensure that all workers understand and acknowledge the Code; and second, to investigate and act on breaches. Getting this right is not optional — the ACQSC assesses compliance with the Code during assessment contacts, and failures can result in enforcement action against both the individual worker and the provider.

The Code of Conduct applies to every individual who provides aged care or related services on behalf of a registered provider. This includes employees (full-time, part-time, and casual), contractors and subcontractors, volunteers, governing body members (including board directors), and key personnel such as CEOs and senior executives.

The breadth of coverage is important. Providers cannot avoid Code of Conduct obligations by engaging workers as contractors rather than employees, or by relying on agency staff. If a person is delivering care or services to aged care consumers on your behalf, they are covered by the Code, and you are responsible for ensuring they comply with it.

The Code of Conduct imposes 8 specific obligations on every aged care worker. These are set out in ss 173–174 of the Aged Care Act 2024:

1. Act with respect for the rights, dignity, and autonomy of older people. This means recognising and supporting consumers' right to make decisions about their own lives and care, even when those decisions involve risk.

2. Provide care and services safely and competently. Workers must deliver care within their scope of practice, maintain current skills and knowledge, and follow the provider's policies and procedures.

3. Act with integrity, honesty, and transparency. Workers must be truthful in their dealings with consumers, families, and colleagues, and must not engage in deceptive or misleading conduct.

4. Promptly report concerns about the safety, health, or wellbeing of consumers. Workers have a positive duty to report concerns — not just incidents they witness, but concerns that come to their attention through any means.

5. Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to all forms of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This is an active duty, not a passive one. Workers cannot simply refrain from abuse — they must take steps to prevent it.

6. Take all reasonable steps to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct. This obligation specifically addresses sexual safety and reflects the sector's history of sexual misconduct incidents.

7. Not engage in conduct that has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, detrimental to a consumer. This is a broad catch-all that captures conduct not covered by the specific obligations above.

8. Comply with the provider's policies, procedures, and directions. Workers must follow the systems and processes that the provider has established, including clinical protocols, incident reporting procedures, and safety requirements.

Providers must ensure that every worker covered by the Code acknowledges their obligations in writing before commencing work or, for existing workers, as part of the transition to the new Act. This acknowledgement should confirm that the worker has read and understood the Code, understands their obligations under each of the 8 requirements, and understands the consequences of non-compliance.

Acknowledgement should not be a one-off exercise. Best practice is to refresh Code of Conduct acknowledgement annually and to incorporate Code of Conduct training into induction programs, mandatory training schedules, and supervision sessions. The ACQSC will look for evidence that workers not only signed the Code at induction but continue to understand and apply it in practice.

Providers should maintain a register of Code of Conduct acknowledgements, including the date of acknowledgement, the version of the Code acknowledged, and whether the worker completed any associated training. This register should be auditable and linked to your worker screening records.

When a potential Code of Conduct breach is identified, the provider must investigate promptly, fairly, and thoroughly. The investigation process should be proportionate to the seriousness of the alleged breach and should protect the rights of both the consumer and the worker.

A robust investigation process typically includes: receiving and documenting the allegation, assessing the risk and implementing immediate safety measures if necessary, notifying the worker of the allegation and providing them with an opportunity to respond, gathering evidence (including witness statements, records, and any available footage), making a finding on the balance of probabilities, determining the appropriate outcome, and documenting the entire process.

Serious Code of Conduct breaches — particularly those involving abuse, neglect, or sexual misconduct — may also trigger SIRS reporting obligations. Providers should have clear processes for identifying when a Code of Conduct breach is also a reportable incident, and for ensuring both obligations are met simultaneously.

The consequences of a Code of Conduct breach depend on its seriousness. For minor breaches, appropriate responses may include counselling, additional training, increased supervision, or a formal warning. For serious breaches, responses may include suspension, termination of employment, and reporting to the ACQSC and, where relevant, to police.

The ACQSC also has the power to issue banning orders against individuals who commit serious or repeated Code of Conduct breaches. A banning order prohibits the individual from working in aged care for a specified period or permanently. This is a significant enforcement power that did not exist under the 1997 Act.

Providers should have a documented disciplinary framework that sets out the range of consequences for Code of Conduct breaches, the factors to be considered in determining the appropriate consequence, and the process for appeals. This framework should be communicated to all workers and should be applied consistently.

Statura Care's Workforce module tracks Code of Conduct acknowledgements for every worker, with automated reminders for annual refreshers and alerts when new workers have not yet completed their acknowledgement. The platform integrates Code of Conduct records with worker screening data, training records, and incident history to give you a complete compliance profile for each worker.

When a potential breach is identified, the platform's investigation workflow guides you through each step — from allegation documentation to outcome recording — with built-in links to SIRS reporting where the breach also constitutes a reportable incident. All data is stored in a single auditable record, ready for ACQSC assessment contacts. Discover how Statura Care's aged care compliance software simplifies Code of Conduct compliance.