Insights from Governing Body and SLT interviews with the Commission - Renewal of Registration Process

Critical Success Solutions (CSS) has, through its network, some early insights following recent Governing Body interviews in the industry that were part of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission renewal of registration process. While each assessment and therefore interview will differ, the following insight provides a useful indication of how the Commission is approaching the process and the types of areas they are exploring with providers.
 
Overview of the Commission process
Based on the information provided during the discussion, the process generally appears to follow the sequence below:
1. Initial request – providers receive an email requesting submission of the Aged Care Evidence Collection Tool (AECT) and supporting documentation. Typically, documentation must be uploaded within seven days.
2. Document review – the Commission reviews the submitted material including:

• AECT self-assessment
• Policies and procedures
• Evidence documents and governance materials.

3. Interviews are then scheduled with:

• Governing Body (approximately 90 minutes)
• Senior Management Team (approximately 90 minutes – 2 hours).

4. Governing Body Report – following these interviews, the Commission prepares a Governing Body report, which contributes to the overall assessment and feeds into site audit reports.
5. Site-level evidence submission – shortly after the interviews, the Commission requests the Care Delivery Evidence Collection Tool (CDECT) for the first nominated site. This information is reviewed and a site visit is then scheduled.
6. Site visits and reporting – after each visit the Commission prepares a preliminary report. They then request the CDECT for the next site, repeating this process until all nominated sites are reviewed.
7. Final organisational report – once all sites have been assessed, the Commission compiles an organisation-level summary report, which is provided to the Registrar for final determination regarding recertification.  

Approach during the Governing Body interview
During the interview, the Commission initially indicated they had a larger number of questions. However, after approximately one hour they reduced these and focused on eight key questions, some containing multiple elements.
 
The questions appeared to draw from several sources including:

• The AECT self-assessment (which the Commission indicated had been reviewed analytically)
• The Commission’s standing governance agenda
• Evidence mapping across governance and operational systems.

 The questions broadly focused on areas such as:

• How the governing body assures kindness, dignity and respect in care delivery
• Strategic priorities and direction setting
• How the governing body identifies and monitors trends from information provided
• Clinical performance monitoring and improvement initiatives
• Strategic oversight of health, safety and wellbeing of both older people and workers
• Emergency preparedness and disaster management
• Oversight of palliative care, end-of-life care and care transitions
• Ensuring safe, welcoming and inclusive environments.

A key observation
During the discussion, it was emphasised that providers require clearly defined policies and documented systems. The Commission indicated that policies are often their starting point, with questions then exploring how those policies are implemented, monitored and reported through governance structures. In practice, this means providers should expect discussions that move beyond documentation and explore:

• How systems operate in practice
• How the governing body receives assurance
• How information is analysed and trends identified
• How improvement actions are monitored.

Senior Leadership Team Interview
In addition to the Governing Body interview, the Commission also conducts a separate interview with the Senior Leadership Team, which focuses more closely on how governance expectations translate into operational systems and day-to-day practice. These discussions explore how leaders implement, monitor and continuously improve key areas such as communication with older individuals, risk management, clinical safety systems, emergency preparedness and complaints management. Together, the two interviews provide the Commission with a clear view of both governance oversight and operational delivery across the organisation.
 
Continuing to build sector insight
As more providers move through the process, further insights will emerge. If you hear of organisations that have completed interviews or site assessments and are willing to share general observations, please contact CSS on the email below as this will be helpful to continue building a practical understanding across the aged care sector.

Critical Success Solutions works alongside Boards, Leadership Team members and Quality Officers to:

• Interpret the strengthened Standards and align them to governance frameworks.
• Structure and refine AECT submissions to ensure clarity and sufficiency.
• Review CDECT entries for risk anticipation and readiness.
• Facilitate mock interview sessions using Commission conversation prompts.
• Train leadership teams to link governance systems to practice evidence.
• Strengthen corporate Continuous Improvement Plans.
• Conduct organisational audit reviews prior to Commission visits.

Our focus is practical capability and not just paperwork for its own sake. When leadership teams understand how governance, monitoring and practice connect, evidence becomes coherent, and preparation becomes systematic rather than reactive.

CSS conducts training in 'Preparing and Managing a Commission's Visit' . The workshop includes:

• Overview of the new process for Commission visits and their purpose.
• Preparing for the visit.
• Collection of evidence.
• Workers' readiness.
• Documentation management.
• Home and older individuals' preparedness
• What to expect during the visit and actions required.
• Post visit review. 

Contact us today about our services and how we can support you. Enquiries: Alex Pirozzi, Business ManagerEmail: alex@cssconsulting.com.au or info@cssconsulting.com.au
Mobile: 0448672118 or Office: 02 90520292