Understanding Governance in Support at Home

A Practical Guide for Home Care Providers

With the introduction of the Support at Home program, governance is no longer just a back-office responsibility, it is central to how providers deliver safe, compliant, and person-centred care.

The updated framework places stronger emphasis on accountability, transparency, and the rights of older people. For providers, this means governance must be embedded across systems, processes, and day-to-day service delivery.

In this article we’ll provide a clear overview of what governance means under Support at Home, and what providers should be focusing on, including:

• The Legislative Framework
• Statement of Rights
• Understanding System Governance: Who regulates What?
• Provider Obligations: Governance in Action
• The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards
• Risks, Incidents and Accountability
• Workforce and Screening Requirements
• Financial and Operational Governance
• Program Assurance: Increased Scrutiny
• What This Means for Home Care Providers
• How OneTouch Supports Governance and Compliance

A New Foundation: the Legislative Framework

At the heart of Support at Home is a modernised legislative structure, led by:

• The Aged Care Act 2024 – the overarching principal legislation
• The Aged Care Rules 2025 – the subordinate legislation providing more details on how the Support at Home program operates.
• The Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2024 – Providing transitional arrangements related to the Aged Care Act 2024, ensuring a smooth transition to the new aged care system. 

The new Act introduces a rights-based approach, placing older people at the centre of the system. This is a fundamental shift from compliance-driven care to care that is explicitly designed around individual rights, choice and wellbeing.

For providers, this means governance is no longer just about meeting requirements, it’s about demonstrating how your organisation actively upholds these principles.

Person-centred governance starts with rights

A key pillar of the new framework is the Statement of Rights, which sets expectations for how care must be delivered.

Older people now have explicit rights to:

• Independence and autonomy
• Safe, high-quality care
• Privacy and dignity
• Choice and control over services
• The ability to raise concerns without fear

Providers are required to take “all reasonable and proportionate steps” to act in line with these rights .

Alongside this sits the Statement of Principles, which guides how everyone in the system, including providers, should behave. This includes putting older people first and recognising them as individuals.

👉 What this means in practice:
Governance frameworks must move beyond policies and into operational reality, reflected in care planning, communication, documentation, and decision-making.

Understanding system governance: who regulates what?

The aged care system is governed by multiple bodies, each with distinct roles, including:

• The System Governor (Department of Health)
• The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
• The Inspector-General of Aged Care
• The Complaints Commissioner

Together, these bodies oversee:

• Provider registration
• Compliance and audits
• Complaints handling
• System-wide performance and reform

👉 For providers: Governance is not isolated, it sits within a broader regulatory ecosystem, with increasing visibility and oversight.

Provider obligations: governance in action

To deliver funded aged care services, providers must be registered and meet ongoing obligations, including:

• Demonstrating alignment with the Statement of Rights
• Delivering safe and quality services
• Ensuring staff comply with the Code of Conduct
• Meeting conditions linked to their registration category

Failure to meet these obligations can result in regulatory action, including suspension or revocation of registration.

👉 Key takeaway: Governance is now directly tied to your ability to operate.

The strengthened Quality Standards

The new framework introduces seven strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, with “The Individual” at the centre.

These standards are:

• Interconnected
• Person-centred
• Embedded across all services

They define what “good care” looks like and form the basis of regulatory assessment.

👉 For providers: Governance systems must support continuous monitoring, evidence collection, and reporting against these standards.

Risk, incidents and accountability

Governance under Support at Home includes stronger requirements around risk management and incident handling.

Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS)

Providers must:

• Prevent and manage incidents
• Report serious incidents
• Use data to drive improvement

Code of Conduct

Applies to:

• Providers
• Staff
• Volunteers

It reinforces expectations around dignity, respect, and safety.

👉 What’s changed: Governance is now proactive, not just responding to issues, but identifying and preventing them.

Workforce and screening requirements

Providers must ensure all workers meet screening requirements, including:

• Valid police checks
• (Future) expanded screening aligned with NDIS frameworks

This strengthens governance around workforce safety and suitability.

Financial and operational governance

Support at Home introduces stronger financial transparency requirements, including:

• Quarterly Financial Reports (QFR)
• Aged Care Financial Reports (ACFR)

Providers must also ensure:

• Continuity of care when services start or cease
• Accurate record keeping
• Clear documentation of processes

👉 Governance takeaway: Financial oversight is now tightly linked to compliance and accountability.

Program assurance: increased scrutiny

The System Governor has powers to conduct assurance activities, reviewing how providers:

• Use funding
• Deliver services
• Maintain records
• Apply procedures

Providers must cooperate fully, failure to do so can lead to consequences under the Act.

👉 This represents a shift to:
Ongoing oversight, not just periodic audits.

What this means for providers

Governance under Support at Home is broader, deeper, and more integrated than ever before.

To succeed, providers should focus on:

1. Embedding person-centred care

Governance must reflect the rights, preferences, and outcomes of each individual, not just organisational processes.

2. Strengthening visibility and oversight

Real-time data, reporting, and audit trails are essential for demonstrating compliance.

3. Aligning systems with regulation

Technology must support:

• Documentation
• Incident management
• Financial reporting
• Quality monitoring

4. Driving continuous improvement

Governance is no longer static—it requires ongoing review, learning, and adaptation.

How OneTouch supports governance and compliance

As governance requirements under Support at Home continue to evolve, many providers are finding that spreadsheets, manual processes, and disconnected systems are no longer sufficient.

A modern care management platform plays a critical role in supporting compliance—not just at audit time, but in day-to-day operations.

OneTouch is designed to support providers across the full governance and compliance landscape, including:

Centralised, auditable records

All client information, care plans, progress notes, and documentation are stored in a single system—creating a clear, consistent source of truth. Built-in audit trails provide visibility over who did what, and when, supporting both internal governance and external audits.

Alignment with the Aged Care Act and Quality Standards

Care plans, assessments, workflows and reporting are structured to align with the Aged Care Act 2024, strengthened Quality Standards, and person-centred care principles—helping providers embed compliance into everyday practice.

Incident management and risk oversight

Integrated incident management tools support compliance with SIRS requirements, enabling providers to record, manage and report incidents, while also identifying trends and driving continuous improvement.

Real-time visibility and reporting

Customisable dashboards and reporting provide oversight across operations, workforce, and care delivery—supporting informed decision-making and proactive governance.

Workforce compliance and accountability

Role-based access, task management, and workflow controls help ensure staff are working within scope, completing required actions, and adhering to organisational policies and the Code of Conduct.

Financial transparency and reporting

OneTouch supports accurate capture of service delivery, billing, and funding data—helping providers meet financial reporting obligations and maintain audit readiness.

Final thoughts

The Support at Home reforms represent a significant shift in how governance is defined and applied in aged care.

It’s no longer just about compliance, it’s about accountability, transparency, and delivering better outcomes for older people.

For providers, the challenge, and opportunity, is to build governance frameworks that are not only compliant, but operationally effective and future-ready.

To find out more about how OneTouch can help support you in governance and compliance, book a no-obligation demonstration with our team.