Australia’s aged care sector is undergoing one of its most significant reforms in decades. The new Aged Care Act, which passed in late 2024 and will come into effect on 1 November 2025, aims to strengthen the quality of care, improve accountability, and rebuild trust in a system that millions of Australians rely on. Among the key reforms are new whistleblower protections and obligations, designed to ensure that concerns about misconduct, neglect, or poor practices can be raised safely and addressed appropriately.
For aged care providers, employees, and stakeholders, understanding these upcoming changes is essential, not only for compliance but also for maintaining public confidence in the sector.
The current Aged Care Act 1997 was created to provide the legal framework for how aged care services are delivered and funded in Australia.
Over the years, however, the Act became increasingly outdated and overly complex, with layers of amendments making it difficult to navigate. Following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which revealed widespread issues, including neglect, inadequate staffing, and systemic governance failures.
In response, the Australian Government committed to replacing the old framework with a new, rights-based Aged Care Act, designed to simplify the law, embed the rights of older people at its core, and ensure greater accountability for providers.
One of the most important reforms in the new Aged Care Act is the strengthening of whistleblower protections. Until now, aged care workers and stakeholders relied on general laws such as the Corporations Act 2001 and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 for protection when speaking up. While these laws offered a baseline of safeguards, they were not designed with the unique realities of the aged care sector in mind.
The new Act changes this by introducing sector-specific obligations and processes, ensuring that aged care providers must establish clear, confidential, and safe channels for disclosures. It also broadens who is protected, covering not only employees, but also contractors, volunteers, and even family members who raise concerns.
By tailoring whistleblower provisions directly to aged care, the legislation aims to build a culture of transparency where issues can be reported early and addressed before they escalate.
Whistleblowing isn’t just about compliance, it is also about trust and safety. In aged care, where vulnerable populations depend on high standards of care, the ability for staff or even family members to raise concerns without fear of retaliation is vital.
According to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, there are over 1,000 reported cases of neglect in Australia’s residential aged care homes every month, with more than 3,100 cases in residential care and 556 in home care reported in a single quarter of 2023–24
Recent inquiries and media investigations have highlighted cases where staff hesitated to speak up due to fear of reprisal. The new reforms aim to change that culture by embedding stronger legal protections and placing obligations on providers to act.
For the sector, these reforms translate into stronger accountability, as providers will need to demonstrate clear processes for handling disclosures. They also foster an improved culture of safety, giving staff the confidence to report misconduct without fear of reprisal. Ultimately, this leads to enhanced public trust, reassuring families and the wider community that poor practices will not go unchecked.
While the final text of the Act is still being refined, early drafts and government briefings indicate several major changes:
Protections will likely cover not only employees but also contractors, volunteers, family members, and carers who raise concerns about aged care services.
Providers will be legally prohibited from taking any form of adverse action against whistleblowers, including dismissal, demotion, harassment, or reputational harm.
Organisations will be required to establish and maintain formal whistleblower policies, outlining how disclosures are handled and how confidentiality is safeguarded.
The reforms aim to bring aged care whistleblowing processes in line with Australia’s broader integrity and accountability frameworks, reducing fragmentation between sectors.
Failure to comply with whistleblower obligations could expose providers to significant fines, reputational damage, and regulatory intervention.
Under the new Aged Care Act, whistleblowers will have several safe avenues to raise concerns. In most cases, reports can be made internally through a provider’s designated whistleblowing system, which every aged care organisation will be required to establish.
Where issues are not addressed, or if individuals feel unsafe reporting internally, concerns can also be escalated directly to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, which oversees standards and complaints in the sector.
In certain situations, disclosures may also be made to other authorised bodies, such as regulators or law enforcement, with legal protections applying to ensure those who speak up are not exposed to retaliation.
For providers, these changes represent a new compliance baseline. Beyond legal obligations, however, proactive preparation can yield real benefits.
Key steps providers should begin considering include:
Providers that address these questions early will not only ensure compliance but also position themselves as trusted, ethical leaders in the aged care sector.
Implementing whistleblower protections effectively can be challenging. Policies alone are not enough, but secure, easy-to-use channels are critical to encourage reporting and protect those who come forward.
This is where Whispli, the leading whistleblowing platform and case management solution, can make a difference. The platform is designed to help organisations comply with whistleblower legislation by providing:
By adopting a solution like Whispli, aged care providers go beyond simply meeting their obligations under the new Act. They create an environment where staff feel safe to raise concerns, where residents are better protected, and where families can have confidence that issues will be addressed transparently.
In short, Whispli helps transform compliance into a genuine culture of safety and accountability.
The introduction of the new Aged Care Act marks a turning point for Australia’s aged care sector. By strengthening whistleblower protections, the government is sending a clear message: speaking up is vital to ensuring quality of care and restoring confidence in the system.
For providers, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Those who act early to implement effective whistleblowing frameworks will not only remain compliant but also build stronger, more resilient organisations.
At Whispli, we believe in empowering individuals to speak up safely and enabling organisations to respond effectively. As the aged care sector prepares for these reforms, our platform is here to help providers navigate change with confidence.
Want to learn how Whispli can support your organisation under the new Aged Care Act? Contact us today to explore our solutions.