Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a critical compliance obligation for aged care providers under the Aged Care Act 2024 and Strengthened Quality Standard 5 (Clinical Care). The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic weaknesses in aged care IPC programs, and the regulatory response has been to significantly strengthen IPC requirements.
This guide covers the key IPC obligations for aged care providers, how to build a compliant IPC program, and how software can automate surveillance, outbreak management, and audit compliance.
IPC obligations under the Aged Care Act 2024
The Act requires providers to have systems and processes in place to prevent, detect, and respond to infections. Quality Standard 5 specifically addresses infection prevention, including:
- Infection surveillance — systematic monitoring of infection rates, types, and trends - Outbreak management — documented outbreak response plans, including notification to public health authorities - Hand hygiene — compliance with the National Hand Hygiene Initiative, including regular audits - Antimicrobial stewardship — programs to ensure antibiotics and antimicrobials are used appropriately, reducing resistance - Standard precautions — consistent use of PPE, safe injection practices, respiratory hygiene, and environmental cleaning - Immunisation — influenza and COVID-19 vaccination programs for staff and residents
The ACQSC assesses IPC compliance during assessment contacts. Providers must be able to demonstrate their IPC program, surveillance data, outbreak preparedness, and audit results.
Infection surveillance and trend monitoring
Effective IPC starts with surveillance — systematically collecting data on infections to identify trends, outbreaks, and areas for improvement. Surveillance should capture:
- Infection type (respiratory, urinary, gastrointestinal, skin, wound, bloodstream) - Date of onset and resolution - Affected resident or client - Location within the facility - Organism identified (if cultured) - Treatment provided - Outcome
Surveillance data should be reviewed at least monthly by the IPC lead or clinical governance committee. Trend analysis identifies seasonal patterns (respiratory infections in winter), unit-specific clusters (infections concentrated in a particular wing), and intervention effectiveness (did hand hygiene improvements reduce infection rates?).
The Infection Prevention module captures surveillance data at the point of care and generates trend dashboards that surface emerging patterns before they become outbreaks.
Outbreak detection and management
An outbreak in aged care is typically defined as 2 or more cases of a similar infection within a defined area and timeframe. Providers must have a documented outbreak management plan that includes:
Detection triggers. Automated alerts when surveillance data shows a cluster of similar infections in a short timeframe. Manual detection relies on clinical staff noticing patterns — which is unreliable during busy periods.
Notification. Outbreaks of certain diseases must be reported to state/territory public health units within 24 hours. Influenza, COVID-19, gastroenteritis, and scabies outbreaks all have specific notification requirements.
Containment measures. Isolation or cohorting of affected residents, enhanced cleaning protocols, PPE escalation, visitor restrictions, and staff movement restrictions between units.
Communication. Families must be notified of outbreaks that affect their relative. Staff must be briefed on enhanced precautions. The governing body should be informed of significant outbreaks.
Post-outbreak review. After every outbreak, conduct a review to identify the source, assess the effectiveness of the response, and update the outbreak management plan accordingly.
Hand hygiene audits
Hand hygiene is the single most effective measure for preventing healthcare-associated infections. The National Hand Hygiene Initiative requires aged care providers to:
- Train all staff in the 5 moments for hand hygiene (before touching a patient, before a procedure, after body fluid exposure, after touching a patient, after touching patient surroundings) - Conduct regular hand hygiene audits — at least quarterly, with results reported to staff and the governing body - Maintain hand hygiene compliance rates above 80% as a minimum benchmark - Provide accessible hand hygiene facilities — alcohol-based hand rub at the point of care and handwashing basins in clinical areas
Hand hygiene audit data is one of the evidence sources assessed under Quality Standard 5. Low compliance rates — or an absence of audit data — will attract attention during ACQSC assessment contacts.
How Statura Care helps with IPC compliance
The Infection Prevention module provides automated infection surveillance with trend analysis dashboards, outbreak detection alerts when case clusters are identified, outbreak management workflows with public health notification templates, hand hygiene audit tools with compliance tracking, and antimicrobial stewardship monitoring.
Surveillance data integrates with the Quality Indicators module for QI reporting, and with the Reporting Hub for governing body IPC reports. The care worker mobile app enables point-of-care infection recording, ensuring surveillance data is captured in real time rather than retrospectively.
IPC compliance is one of 35 modules in Statura Care's aged care compliance software — purpose-built for the Aged Care Act 2024.