By Steve Hadfield, AgedCareActionPlan.au · Last updated: 27 May 2026
Most families wait far too long before raising a concern about their provider. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found that fewer than 40% of care concerns are ever raised formally. The most common reason: people worry they're making too much of it, or that speaking up will make things worse.
Before anything else — this work is hard. Navigating a provider problem while also caring for an ageing parent is exhausting and stressful. If you're reading this, you're already doing the right thing by looking into it.
Not every imperfect service warrants a formal escalation — but these patterns do. If any of the following have happened more than once, the concern is real and worth acting on:
These are worth a direct conversation with your care partner — but the three-step escalation process below is for patterns, not isolated incidents. If you're unsure where your situation sits, OPAN on 1800 700 600 can help you calibrate before you decide how to proceed.
Many older people don't raise concerns about their care — not because they don't have them, but because they don't want to seem ungrateful, they're worried about losing care altogether, or they've spent decades deferring to people in authority.
If you're a family member who can see that something is wrong while your parent stays quiet — you are allowed to act. Under the Aged Care Act 2024, family members and supporters can raise concerns and lodge complaints on behalf of a participant. You do not need your parent's explicit permission to contact OPAN or the ACQSC, though involving them in the process where possible is good practice.
If your parent is aware of the problem but reluctant to act, it can help to frame it this way: raising a concern is not being difficult — it is using a right that exists specifically to protect them. A good provider will not penalise them for it.
Not all provider problems are systemic. Sometimes the issue is a single worker — one who is rough, unreliable, making your parent uncomfortable, or behaving inappropriately. This is one of the most common situations families face, and one of the least talked about because it feels personal and awkward to raise.
You can ask your provider to assign a different worker at any time. You do not need to give a reason. A simple "we'd like to request a change of worker" in writing to your care partner is enough to start that process.
If the worker's conduct has been more serious — unsafe handling, inappropriate comments, aggressive behaviour, or anything that has made your parent feel unsafe — put the specific details in writing to the provider immediately and ask for an urgent response. Under the Serious Incident Response Scheme, providers are legally required to report certain serious incidents to the ACQSC. If you believe the conduct rises to that level, you can also contact the ACQSC directly on 1800 951 822.
If your parent is uncomfortable with a specific worker but won't say why — take that seriously. Older people sometimes don't disclose the full extent of what's happening, particularly if they're embarrassed or worried about the consequences. OPAN on 1800 700 600 can provide confidential advice about how to handle a situation where you're concerned but don't have full information.
If a missed or cancelled service has left your parent in an unsafe situation — without medication, unable to get out of bed, without food, or otherwise at immediate risk — do not wait for the complaints process.
When you contact the ACQSC about a safety incident, use the phrase "urgent safety concern" clearly. This triggers a different prioritisation process than a general service quality complaint.
Before raising a concern with your provider, do this one check: find your most recent monthly statement.
Your provider is legally required to send you a monthly statement showing your quarterly budget balance and every transaction against it. If you're not receiving monthly statements, that itself is a compliance failure under the Aged Care Act 2024.
If you are receiving statements, compare the services being billed with the services actually delivered. A service billed but not delivered is not just a quality issue — it is a financial one, and the ACQSC has explicit power to investigate overcharging and order refunds.
Write down the discrepancy with dates and amounts before you contact anyone. This documentation is your strongest evidence if you need to escalate. To understand what your quarterly budget should be and whether the amounts are correct, use the fee calculator.
This is the question that stops most families from acting, and it deserves a direct answer.
Under the Aged Care Act 2024, you have an explicit right to raise concerns without fear of negative consequences. A provider who responds to a concern by reducing services, changing workers without reason, or becoming less responsive — that conduct is itself a breach of their obligations. It should be reported to the ACQSC, and the ACQSC has the power to act on it.
If you are worried about retaliation before raising anything directly with your provider, contact OPAN first. OPAN provides free, independent advocacy and can support you through the process confidentially — including contacting the provider on your behalf so your parent isn't exposed.
The first step is to contact your provider directly — but in writing, not by phone. A phone call is easy to dismiss or forget. A written record changes the dynamic.
Email your care partner or the provider's complaints contact. Keep the message factual and specific:
Keep a copy of every message you send and receive. If the provider calls you in response, follow up the call with an email summarising what was discussed and agreed. A written record protects you at every subsequent step — including if you eventually need to switch or lodge a formal complaint.
Give the provider five business days to respond meaningfully. If you receive nothing, or a response that dismisses your concern without a concrete resolution — move to Step 2.
If your provider doesn't respond, responds inadequately, or the problem continues after they've acknowledged it — contact OPAN before going directly to the regulator.
OPAN is independent of both providers and government. Their role is to support you — not to mediate on the provider's behalf. Many families find that provider behaviour changes quickly once OPAN is involved, because the provider understands that OPAN involvement typically precedes a formal complaint.
You don't need to have everything prepared. When you call, tell them:
Phone: 1800 700 600 (free call, Monday to Friday 8am–8pm AEST) · opan.org.au
If the problem remains unresolved after raising it with the provider and contacting OPAN, lodge a formal complaint with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
The ACQSC operates under the Aged Care Act 2024 with broad powers — including the ability to investigate provider conduct, require providers to make specific changes, and take enforcement action in serious cases. Since the new Act commenced in November 2025, the ACQSC's powers have been significantly strengthened. They can investigate overcharging, order refunds, and take regulatory action against providers who persistently fail to meet their obligations.
Complaints can be made:
When you first contact the ACQSC, they will listen to your concern and let you know whether it is something they can assist with. They will explain what options are available and what to expect from there. Timeframes for resolution vary depending on the complexity of the complaint and whether investigation is required — the ACQSC will advise you on this when you make contact. Keep all your written records ready — they will be useful if investigation proceeds.
It is worth being honest about this. A formal complaint is unlikely to transform a poor provider into a great one overnight. What it does do:
This is the question most families end up at, and there is no single right answer. What matters is what you want to achieve.
Switching providers and lodging a complaint are completely separate. You can initiate a switch while a complaint is still being processed. Switching does not cancel the complaint — and if the provider's conduct is serious enough to be on record, lodge the complaint regardless of whether you stay or go.
For the step-by-step switching process, including how to avoid a service gap, see How to Switch Your Support at Home Provider. For guidance on finding and evaluating a replacement, see How to Choose a Home Care Provider. For a full step-by-step escalation process including ACQSC referral, see the escalation guide.
With sector reform underway, some smaller providers have exited the market or transferred their operations to larger organisations. If this happens to your parent's provider, the most important thing to know is this: your funding is yours, not your provider's.
If your provider closes or transfers its service delivery to another organisation, they are required to notify you in writing and return any unspent funds to Services Australia. Your Support at Home classification, quarterly budget, and approved supports all carry over — nothing is lost from your entitlement.
For support finding a replacement provider quickly, see How to Choose a Home Care Provider and the provider selection guide.
Not sure whether to escalate, switch, or what your parent is actually entitled to? Answer a few questions and get a step-by-step plan built around their situation.
Start by raising the concern with your provider in writing — email is fine. Name the specific problem and ask for a written response within five business days. If the problem is not resolved, contact OPAN on 1800 700 600 for free independent advocacy, or lodge a formal complaint with the ACQSC at agedcarequality.gov.au or on 1800 951 822.
Yes. You can ask your provider to assign a different worker at any time — you do not need to give a reason. If a worker's conduct is making your parent unsafe or uncomfortable, put the concern in writing to your provider and ask for an immediate change.
OPAN provides free, independent advocacy for people receiving aged care services. They can help you understand your rights, communicate with your provider on your behalf, support you through a formal complaints process, and advise whether switching is the right option. Call 1800 700 600 or visit opan.org.au.
Under the Aged Care Act 2024, you have the right to raise concerns without fear of negative consequences. If you are worried about retaliation, contact OPAN first on 1800 700 600 — they can support you confidentially.
The ACQSC can investigate the complaint, require the provider to make changes, and take enforcement action under the Aged Care Act 2024. They can also investigate overcharging and order refunds. Complaints can be made anonymously.
Yes. Worker consistency is a legitimate concern. Raise it in writing with your provider. If they cannot offer a satisfactory plan to improve, this is a legitimate reason to consider switching.
Five business days after raising it in writing with no meaningful response is long enough. Contact OPAN on 1800 700 600 or go directly to the ACQSC at agedcarequality.gov.au.
Your funding is preserved — it belongs to you, not your provider. Contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 immediately. They can confirm your funding status and help you find a new provider.
You can do both — they are independent processes. Escalate if the issue is recent or serious enough to be on record. Switch if trust has broken down. Switching does not cancel a complaint already in progress.
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Start Navigator — $29/month →This guide is for information only — not legal, medical, or financial advice. Verified against the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025. Check myagedcare.gov.au for current rates and rules.