This publication is published by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care as a manual to administer the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program).

Participation in the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program (QI Program) has been a requirement for all approved providers of residential care services since 1 July 2019. The QI Program requires quarterly reporting against eleven quality indicators across crucial care areas — pressure injuries, physical restraint, unplanned weight loss, falls and major injury, medication management, activities of daily living, incontinence care, hospitalisation, workforce, consumer experience and quality of life.

The objectives of the QI Program are:

• for providers to have robust, valid data to measure and monitor their performance and support continuous quality improvement in the care they provide to aged care recipients
• to give older Australians, care recipients and the community transparent information about quality in aged care to assist decision making; and
• for government to have system-level measures of quality in aged care and an evidence-based to inform policy and regulation.