Despite years of cyclical care reforms for service providers and shifting regulations, aged care services quality and accountability remains a significant concern to both the government and the Australian public. To break this cycle, it is essential that Australia establish a set of long-term and comprehensive indicators of quality in aged care.

It has been recommended that the Department of Health mandate the collection and publication of quality of life outcomes in aged care to provide a minimum set of standards and provide transparency in aged care quality. However, substantial variabilities between available toolsets, a lack of best practice guidance, and a lack of publicly reported outcomes has meant that measuring the impact of aged care services on quality of life, consistently and systematically, is a challenge for most aged care providers.