National Aged Care Provider Conference 2026: Key Insights and Learnings

National Aged Care Provider Conference 2026: Key Insights and Learnings

We have recently had the opportunity to attend and represent PolCare and PCCV at the National Aged Care Provider Conference 2026, held in Brisbane on 13-14 October 2026. The conference, which was hosted by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission brought together aged care leaders, providers, regulators and sector experts from across Australia to discuss the ongoing implementation of the new rights-based aged care system.

The conference theme, "Rights and Choice, Every Day: One Year In," focused on the first year of operation under the Aged Care Act 2024. Discussions were centred on how providers can continue to embed a rights-based approach into everyday service delivery, governance, decision-making and consumer engagement.

 Key Themes

 • A strong message throughout the conference was that every aspect of aged care should support the rights, dignity, independence and preferences of older people. Providers were encouraged to ensure that consumers are active participants in decisions about their care and services.

• Sessions explored practical examples of how organisations are implementing the new legislative requirements and embedding the new Aged Care Act into everyday practice, including strengthening consumer engagement, promoting transparency and restorative engagement in complaints and incident reporting, and improving governance arrangements and ensuring organisational accountability for quality and safety outcomes.

• Older people and consumer representatives shared their experiences of aged care services, highlighting the importance of respecting individual choice, cultural identity and meaningful participation in care planning and service delivery.

• The conference also highlighted the importance of effective risk management, continuous quality improvement and delivering culturally safe care to diverse communities, including for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

•The Commissioner, regulators and sector leaders reinforced that aged care reform remains an ongoing journey. Providers were encouraged to focus on workforce capability, governance effectiveness, consumer-centred practices and continuous improvement to meet the expectations of the new regulatory environment.

 PolCare will continue to be committed to delivering safe, high-quality and person-centred care. The learnings from the conference will help inform our ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance, improve service quality and ensure that the rights and choices of the people we support remain at the heart of everything we do.

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