The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) is one of the most operationally demanding compliance obligations for Australian aged care providers. Under the Aged Care Act 2024, providers must identify, report, investigate, and resolve serious incidents within strict timeframes — or face regulatory consequences from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC).
SIRS applies to all registered aged care providers delivering residential care and, since 1 November 2025, to Support at Home providers as well. Whether you operate a single facility or a multi-site organisation, your SIRS obligations are the same — and the consequences for non-compliance are significant, including civil penalties of up to $1.65 million for body corporates.
This guide covers everything providers need to know: what triggers a reportable incident, the Priority 1 and Priority 2 deadlines, how to build a compliant workflow, and the most common mistakes the ACQSC identifies during assessment contacts.
What is SIRS in aged care?
The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) is a mandatory reporting framework established under the Aged Care Act 2024 (previously introduced under the Aged Care Act 1997 in April 2021 for residential care). SIRS requires aged care providers to report certain categories of serious incidents to the ACQSC, investigate those incidents, and take action to prevent recurrence.
SIRS replaced the earlier compulsory reporting requirements that applied only to physical and sexual abuse by staff. The scope is now significantly broader — covering incidents involving any person (staff, other residents, visitors, or unknown persons) and extending beyond abuse to include neglect, unexplained absence, and unexpected death.
The ACQSC uses SIRS data to monitor provider safety performance, identify systemic issues across the sector, and target regulatory action where providers demonstrate patterns of non-compliance. In its 2024-25 annual report, the ACQSC noted that SIRS notifications had increased year-on-year — not necessarily because incidents are increasing, but because provider awareness and reporting compliance have improved.
What is a reportable incident under SIRS?
The Act defines 9 reportable incident types. Each category is intentionally broad — the ACQSC expects providers to report early and investigate thoroughly, rather than wait for certainty before notifying.
The 9 reportable incident types are:
1. Unreasonable use of force — physical contact that is disproportionate, unnecessary, or not in the person's best interest. This includes rough handling during care, inappropriate physical interventions, and any use of force beyond what is clinically justified.
2. Unlawful sexual contact — any sexual contact without consent, or where consent cannot be given due to cognitive impairment. This is always classified as Priority 1.
3. Psychological or emotional abuse — verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, humiliation, or patterns of behaviour that cause psychological harm. Includes yelling at residents, derogatory comments, and deliberate social isolation.
4. Unexpected death — a death that is not consistent with the person's known clinical condition or care plan. This includes deaths during or shortly after a fall, medication error, choking incident, or unexplained circumstances.
5. Stealing or financial coercion — theft of property or money, coercion to change wills or financial arrangements, or misuse of powers of attorney.
6. Neglect — failure to provide adequate care, supervision, or services. Includes missed medications, failure to respond to clinical deterioration, inadequate nutrition or hydration, and failure to implement care plans.
7. Inappropriate use of restrictive practices — any use of physical, chemical, mechanical, or environmental restraint, or seclusion, that is not authorised under a behaviour support plan, not used as a last resort, or used without informed consent. See our restrictive practices compliance guide for detailed obligations.
8. Unexplained absence — a care recipient who is missing from the service and whose absence is unexplained and unusual given their care needs and cognitive status.
9. Other serious incidents — a catch-all category for incidents causing serious injury, harm, or risk of harm that do not fit neatly into categories 1–8. Providers should err on the side of reporting.
The obligation to report is triggered when the provider becomes aware that an incident falls within one of these 9 defined categories — regardless of whether serious harm actually resulted. This is an important distinction that catches many providers off guard during ACQSC assessment contacts.
Priority 1 vs Priority 2: understanding the deadlines
SIRS incidents are classified into two priority levels, each with different notification deadlines. Getting the classification right is critical — an incorrectly classified Priority 1 incident that is reported as Priority 2 will be treated as a late notification.
Priority 1 incidents must be reported to the ACQSC within 24 hours of the provider becoming aware. An incident is Priority 1 if it:
- Has caused, or could reasonably be expected to cause, physical or psychological injury requiring medical treatment or hospitalisation - Involves unlawful sexual contact or sexual misconduct (always Priority 1) - There are reasonable grounds for reporting to police - Involves an unexplained absence of a care recipient with cognitive impairment - Involves an unexpected death
The 24-hour clock starts from the moment any staff member becomes aware — not from when management is informed, and not from when the incident is entered into your system. This is the single most common source of late notifications.
Priority 2 incidents — any reportable incident that does not meet Priority 1 criteria — must be reported within 30 calendar days. While 30 days allows more time for investigation, providers should not delay notification until the investigation is complete. The ACQSC recommends reporting as soon as practicable.
Final reports for all reportable incidents must be submitted within 60 calendar days of the initial notification. The final report must include the investigation findings, root cause analysis, remediation actions taken, and systemic changes implemented to prevent recurrence.
Key deadlines summary:
- Priority 1 initial notification: 24 hours - Priority 2 initial notification: 30 days - Final report (all incidents): 60 days from initial notification - Record keeping: All SIRS records must be retained for 7 years
SIRS under the Aged Care Act 2024 vs the old Act
The Aged Care Act 2024 replaced the Aged Care Act 1997 on 1 November 2025. While the core SIRS framework remains similar, there are important differences providers should understand.
Under the 1997 Act, SIRS applied only to residential aged care. The 2024 Act extends SIRS obligations to Support at Home providers — meaning home care providers must now report serious incidents involving their clients through the same framework.
The 2024 Act also introduces stronger enforcement mechanisms. The ACQSC now has the power to issue compliance notices, infringement notices, and seek civil penalties for providers who fail to meet SIRS obligations. Maximum civil penalties have increased significantly — up to $1.65 million for body corporates and $330,000 for individuals for the most serious contraventions.
The 2024 Act places greater emphasis on the provider's obligation to take systemic action to prevent recurrence. It is no longer sufficient to investigate and resolve individual incidents — providers must demonstrate that they are identifying patterns, analysing root causes, and implementing organisation-wide improvements. This is assessed under Strengthened Quality Standard 2 (The Organisation).
See our complete guide to the Aged Care Act 2024 for the full list of changes.
Building a compliant incident management workflow
An effective SIRS workflow typically follows six stages:
Stage 1: Incident identification and recording. The incident is identified and entered into the system immediately. Best practice is digital capture at the point of care — via a mobile care worker app or bedside terminal — rather than paper forms or verbal handovers that delay recording.
Stage 2: Priority classification and deadline activation. The incident is classified as Priority 1 or Priority 2, and the corresponding deadline clock starts. Automated classification based on incident characteristics reduces the risk of incorrect priority assignment.
Stage 3: ACQSC notification. The initial notification is submitted to the ACQSC via the My Aged Care Provider Portal within the required timeframe (24 hours for Priority 1, 30 days for Priority 2).
Stage 4: Investigation. A thorough investigation is conducted, including interviews with witnesses, review of care records, and root cause analysis. The investigation should answer: what happened, why it happened, what immediate actions were taken, and what systemic changes will prevent recurrence.
Stage 5: Remediation and systemic improvement. The provider implements remediation actions for the specific incident and systemic changes to address root causes. This may include policy updates, additional staff training, changes to care plans, or environmental modifications.
Stage 6: Final report and evidence documentation. The final report is submitted to the ACQSC within 60 days, and all investigation evidence is documented and stored for audit purposes.
The most common compliance failures occur between stages one and two. If your staff report an incident verbally but it takes days to enter the system, your 24-hour or 30-day clock may have already started without your compliance team knowing. Digital incident capture at the point of care eliminates this gap.
Common SIRS compliance mistakes
Based on ACQSC assessment contact findings and sector feedback, these are the most frequent SIRS compliance failures:
Late notification. The most common issue. Often caused by delays between verbal incident reports and system entry, or by misclassifying Priority 1 incidents as Priority 2. The 24-hour clock starts from when any staff member becomes aware — not from management review.
Under-reporting. Providers who only report incidents involving physical harm miss the breadth of the 9 categories. Neglect (missed medications, inadequate supervision), psychological abuse (verbal intimidation), and inappropriate restrictive practices are frequently under-reported.
Inadequate investigation. The ACQSC expects root cause analysis, not just incident description. A compliant investigation documents what happened, why it happened (including contributing factors), what immediate actions were taken, and what systemic changes will prevent recurrence.
No evidence of systemic improvement. Individual incident resolution is necessary but not sufficient. Providers must demonstrate that they analyse incident patterns, identify trends (e.g., incidents concentrated on particular shifts, in particular units, or involving particular categories), and implement organisation-wide improvements.
Incomplete records. SIRS records must be retained for 7 years. Incomplete records — missing investigation notes, unsigned remediation plans, or gaps in the timeline — are flagged during assessment contacts.
No staff training on incident identification. All staff must understand what constitutes a reportable incident and how to report it immediately. Annual SIRS training is best practice, with refresher training after significant incidents.
Restrictive practices and SIRS
The Aged Care Act 2024 places additional obligations around restrictive practices that intersect with SIRS reporting. Any use of a restrictive practice — including physical restraint, chemical restraint, environmental restraint, mechanical restraint, or seclusion — must be recorded in a restrictive practices register and linked to an approved behaviour support plan.
The use of a restrictive practice becomes a SIRS reportable incident (category 7 — inappropriate use of restrictive practices) when it is:
- Not authorised under a current behaviour support plan - Not used as a last resort after less restrictive alternatives have been tried - Used without informed consent from the care recipient or their representative - Not reviewed within the required timeframes - Applied for longer than clinically necessary
Providers must demonstrate that restrictive practices are used only as a last resort, with informed consent, and are regularly reviewed. The register should capture who authorised the practice, the duration, the clinical rationale, and whether a behaviour support plan is in place.
Chemical restraint — particularly the use of psychotropic medications without a diagnosed condition — remains one of the highest-reported SIRS categories. See our medication safety guide for related obligations.
SIRS reporting for Support at Home providers
Since 1 November 2025, Support at Home providers have the same SIRS obligations as residential care providers. However, the operational challenges are different.
In home care settings, incidents may occur in a client's private home, with limited witnesses. Care workers may be the sole staff member present, and clients may be reluctant to report incidents involving family members or informal carers.
Home care providers should ensure their incident reporting systems are accessible to field-based workers — ideally via a mobile app that allows immediate incident recording with GPS-tagged location and time stamps. Paper-based or email-based reporting creates unacceptable delays for Priority 1 incidents.
The ACQSC has indicated it will apply a proportionate approach during the initial transition period, focusing on whether providers have the systems and training in place rather than penalising early reporting gaps. However, this grace period will not last indefinitely.
SIRS and the Strengthened Quality Standards
SIRS compliance is directly assessed under multiple Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards:
Standard 2 (The Organisation) — requires providers to demonstrate effective governance systems, including incident management, risk management, and continuous improvement processes. Your SIRS data, investigation quality, and evidence of systemic improvement are key evidence sources.
Standard 3 (The Care and Services) — requires safe, quality care. SIRS incidents related to clinical care (medication errors, falls, pressure injuries) are assessed under this standard.
Standard 1 (The Individual) — requires that care recipients are treated with dignity and respect. SIRS incidents involving abuse, neglect, or restrictive practices are assessed under this standard.
During assessment contacts, the ACQSC will review your SIRS register, investigation files, remediation evidence, trend analysis reports, and staff training records. An audit preparation guide helps ensure all evidence is organised and accessible.
Frequently asked questions about SIRS
Is SIRS still used in 2025-2026? Yes. SIRS continues under the Aged Care Act 2024 and has been expanded to include Support at Home providers. The scheme is a permanent part of the regulatory framework.
What is SIRS in aged care? SIRS stands for the Serious Incident Response Scheme. It is a mandatory incident reporting and management framework requiring aged care providers to report 9 categories of serious incidents to the ACQSC within specified timeframes.
What are the SIRS guidelines? The ACQSC publishes SIRS guidance materials including a decision support tool to help providers classify incidents. The core rules are set out in the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025. See our SIRS checklist for a practical compliance reference.
How many SIRS reports are made each year? The ACQSC received over 68,000 SIRS notifications in 2023-24, an increase from previous years. The most commonly reported categories were neglect, unreasonable use of force, and psychological or emotional abuse.
What happens if we miss a SIRS deadline? Late notifications are recorded by the ACQSC and may trigger a compliance review, a request for information, or a targeted assessment contact. Persistent late reporting can lead to compliance notices, conditions on registration, or civil penalties.
Do we need to report near-misses? Near-misses are not reportable under SIRS unless they fall within one of the 9 incident categories. However, recording and analysing near-misses is best practice and demonstrates a strong safety culture to the ACQSC.
How Statura Care helps with SIRS compliance
Statura Care's SIRS & Incidents module automates the entire SIRS lifecycle from the moment an incident is recorded. Priority 1 and Priority 2 deadlines are calculated automatically, with escalating alerts as deadlines approach — 24 hours, 12 hours, 4 hours, and 1 hour before expiry.
The module includes structured ACQSC notification templates that map directly to the My Aged Care Provider Portal fields, investigation workflows with root cause analysis fields, remediation action tracking with assigned owners and due dates, and an integrated restrictive practices register linked to behaviour support plans.
Trend analysis dashboards identify patterns across incident categories, time periods, locations, and shifts — giving your governance team the evidence of systemic improvement that the ACQSC expects under Quality Standard 2.
For Support at Home providers, the care worker mobile app enables field-based staff to record incidents immediately with GPS location and timestamps, ensuring Priority 1 deadlines are never missed.
All incident data feeds into the Quality Standards module as evidence for Standards 1, 2, and 3, and into the Reporting Hub for board-level reporting and ACQSC submissions.
SIRS is one of 35 modules in Statura Care's aged care compliance software — purpose-built for the Aged Care Act 2024.