When Funding Falls Short, Quality Is Put at Risk
If your organisation is struggling to make the funding stretch far enough—while still meeting care minutes, workforce costs, registration requirements and the strengthened Quality Standards—this is the conversation we need to have in Adelaide.
Because the uncomfortable truth is this: when funding falls short, quality is placed at risk.
Providers cannot deliver safe, high-quality care without the financial capacity to employ the right people, provide education, maintain clinical systems and respond to increasingly complex resident needs.
This is why our Funding, Quality & Registration Intensive Workshop in Adelaide on 7 October is so important. We are bringing funding, workforce, quality and compliance together in one practical day—because these areas can no longer be managed separately.
The AN-ACC price is increasing—but look beyond the headline
From 1 October 2026, the AN-ACC price will increase from $295.64 to $303.19 per resident per day.
That sounds like good news—and any increase is welcome—but providers need to look beyond the headline.
The increase is intended to account for wage decisions and rising non-labour costs. Care-minute requirements remain unchanged, AN-ACC funding categories remain unchanged, and the hotelling supplement remains frozen at $22.15 per resident per day while the Government undertakes a further review.
You can read the Government’s AN-ACC funding announcement here.
The financial figures should concern all of us
The latest StewartBrown figures paint a confronting picture:
- 62% of aged care homes operated at a loss in March 2026, compared with 49% a year earlier.
You can read the StewartBrown March 2026 report here.
This is not a financially healthy or sustainable sector. And this is not just an issue for the finance department.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission acknowledges that there is a clear link between a provider’s financial health and the wellbeing, safety and quality of life of older people.
That matters.
An organisation that is continually operating at a loss will eventually have less capacity to invest in its workforce, education, clinical governance, systems, buildings and quality improvement.
We cannot keep talking about funding and quality as though they are separate issues.
Technology can help—but it cannot replace clinical judgement
There are some very useful electronic platforms available that can review data and identify possible AN-ACC opportunities.
But technology alone will not optimise your funding.
When I review a provider’s AN-ACC position, I consistently find legitimate funding opportunities that have not been identified through electronic systems. That is because I approach AN-ACC using clinical skills—not simply numbers on a dashboard.
You may be missing funding to which it is legitimately entitled—and may also struggle to demonstrate that care is being properly assessed, planned, delivered and reviewed under the strengthened Quality Standards.
This is where funding and quality teams must come together
AN-ACC cannot sit only with the funding team.
Clinical documentation cannot sit only with nurses.
Care minutes cannot sit only with finance or workforce planning.
Registration and quality compliance cannot sit only with the quality manager.
All of these areas are connected.
Funding determines the workforce that can be provided. Workforce design affects care-minute performance and the quality of care. Clinical documentation supports AN-ACC assessments and provides evidence of compliance. Governance brings the whole picture together for executives and boards.
When these teams work in isolation, opportunities are missed and risks increase.
When they work together, providers are in a much stronger position to improve funding, control workforce costs and demonstrate the quality of care being delivered.
Why we are bringing this conversation to Adelaide
On Wednesday, 7 October, I will be joined by Fleur Hannen from Critical Success Solutions and Steven Hughes from Financial Shepherd Consulting for our Funding, Quality & Registration Intensive Workshop.
Between us, we will help providers understand:
- how to identify and support legitimate AN-ACC funding opportunities;
- what the latest funding changes mean in practice;
- where clinical documentation gaps create funding and compliance risks;
- how to improve alignment between assessments, care plans and daily documentation;
- how workforce planning and care-minute management can reduce unnecessary costs;
- what the industry has learned from registration renewal;
- how to prepare for quality and compliance expectations; and
- how executives can align funding, workforce and quality in strategic planning.
This day is for executive leaders, clinical managers, AN-ACC and funding teams, quality teams, workforce planners and operational leaders.
It is deliberately designed to bring these groups into the same room.
This will not be a day of generic presentations or information you could simply read online. It will be a practical discussion about what providers are experiencing now, what is going wrong and what can be done differently.
Providers cannot afford to wait
The increase in the AN-ACC price will not solve the sector’s financial pressures by itself.
Providers need to understand where funding is being missed, whether their clinical documentation supports the care being delivered, how their workforce is designed and whether funding, care minutes and quality obligations are properly aligned.
The financial and regulatory risks are too significant to continue working in silos.
If your organisation needs to strengthen its funding position, improve workforce planning and prepare for registration and quality compliance, I encourage you to join us in Adelaide.
Funding, Quality & Registration Intensive Workshop
Wednesday, 7 October 2026
9:00 am–3:00 pm
The Terrace Hotel, Adelaide
Morning tea and lunch included.
Places are limited, and with only weeks remaining, now is the time to secure your team’s attendance.
