Aged Care Minister Anika Wells on 20 March repeated there is a Registered Nurse (RN) onsite in aged care 24/7 99% of the time.
However, February 24/7 RN data by the Department of Health and Aged Care (DOHAC) paints a more complex picture, with nearly one in four small rural towns failing to meet the 24/7 RN requirement.
The Minister's claim is true if taking the average percentage of reported hours an RN was on site and on duty 99.25% of the time as of February 2025.
However the reality is only 92% of homes are achieving the 24/7 RN requirement, which excludes the 19 residential care homes granted exemptions from the data.
When you include the homes with exemptions, compliance drops to 91%.
The data clearly shows how rural and rural areas are still struggling to comply with the mandatory requirement. In small rural towns, the second largest geographical category after metro areas with 250 homes, only 77% of homes are meeting the 24/7 RN requirement. In remote communities (21 homes), only 76% of homes are achieving full RN coverage.
Metro homes are achieving 98% compliance.
Failing to report
62 residential aged care homes failed to report their 24/7 RN data. According to DOHAC, the most common reasons providers give for not reporting the data include:
- technology issues,
- not being to access the reporting function due to staffing changes, and
- the transfer of a facility's ownership to a new provider.
Providers that regularly fail to report would be referred to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. This has not occurred.
Providers that do not report their 24/7 RN data do not receive the full 24/7 RN supplement.
