Have your say: Training for Volunteers in Aged Care

The Department of Health Disability and Ageing is proposing a Mandatory Training Manual for volunteers in aged care. It brings together the registration obligations under the new Aged Care Act and the strengthened Quality Standards, the Statement of Rights and Royal Commission recommendation for volunteer training, to ensure older people receive person-centred, rights based aged care that respects and supports older people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences.

Key aspects:

• The mandatory training manual will outline minimum training requirements for all aged care volunteers
• Training is mandatory for volunteers working with providers in registration categories 4, 5, and 6, but training is highly recommended for all volunteers.
• Volunteers, aged care providers and other stakeholders are invited to provide feedback by 22 September 2025.

What is covered?

The manual will contain 5 training modules, and each will take up to 15 minutes to complete. The mode of training can be adapted to be accessible and inclusive depending on the volunteer, it can be presented online, in-person, individual or group, or as an individual self-paced course. Material will support volunteer managers to deliver flexible learning. Continuous feedback mechanisms and improvements will take place. The five module topics are:

• Code of Conduct for Aged Care (the Code)
• Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS)
• Complaints and feedback
• Elder abuse awareness and advocacy pathways
• Understanding diversity and inclusion

What is not covered?

This training does not cover role-specific training (e.g. safe food handling, safe driving) or additional organisational training that supports volunteers such as First Aid training, WHS training, and the organisation’s own incident reporting, whistleblower and complaints handling procedures.

Is the training mandatory for everyone?

Under the new Aged Care Act commencing 1 November 2025, aged care volunteer training is a condition of registration for providers in Registration categories 4, 5 and 6. The table below outlines the registration categories and the applicable service types.

Quality Standard 2.9 Support Effective Human Resource Management, requires suitable training, supervision and support is provided for aged care workers including volunteers.

Although Registration Categories 1, 2 and 3 are not subject to audits against the strengthened Quality Standards, it is still expected they will deliver the same quality standards for care and support, so it is highly recommended all volunteers undertake the proposed training.

Image: New Registration Categories and the applicable Quality Standards, due to commence 1 November 2025 (CHSP webinar, Department of Health Disability and Ageing, held 12 June 2025)

The training will aim to support volunteers:

• Volunteers are appropriately trained to confidently support older people in a safe and respectful manner
• promote consistent training across the sector
• make training accessible and inclusive, and support volunteers’ individual learning needs and preferences
• support providers to deliver training, and ensure consistent training across the sector

The training aims to ensure older people:

• Receive person-centred and rights based support
• Care is delivered in a safe environment free from mistreatment and harm
• Diverse backgrounds and life experiences are supported

Volunteers, volunteer managers, providers who engage volunteers and other stakeholders are invited to provide their feedback to ensure volunteer training and policy development is shaped in a way that meets the needs of volunteers and the older people they support.

Read the discussion paper (here) and provide your feedback via the survey, post or email by 22 September 2025 (here).