Chorus Associated Providers
What does it mean to be an associated provider?
As an associated provider, you partner with Chorus to provide essential services and supports to aged care customers throughout local communities.
Chorus is a registered Support at Home provider under the new Aged Care Act. We are therefore responsible for the quality of care and compliance for the services provided by you, the associated provider.
Associated providers are therefore required to provide any evidence of compliance, and understand the obligations including the following:
- A new aged care act for the rights of older people
- Aged Care Statement of Rights
- Aged Care Code of Conduct
- Incident Reporting
- Aged Care Quality Standards
- Quality Standards Reference Guide
- Continuous Improvement
- Worker Screening (police certificate or NDIS screening check)
Depending on the services you provide, you may also be required to show compliance with the Aged Care Standards (this includes Personal Care, Nursing and Allied Health care).
You will also be required to ensure all staff are fully qualified and have current training for services/support provided, policies are in place and show evidence of insurances to protect both you, Chorus and customers:
- Public & Product Liability (if applicable) including a principals indemnity clause
- Professional Indemnity
- Workers Comp (if providing support or services within a customers property)
- Motor Vehicle Liability (if transporting customers)
- Directors and Officers Liability (if applicable)
- Malpractice Insurance (if applicable) including a principals indemnity clause
- Food Safety/HACCP Registration (if applicable)
- Cyber security policies and procedures (including insurance if in place)
Services covered under Support at Home:
For detailed information regarding what specific services can be claimed under Support at Home see the Government’s Support at Home Service List
Categories of services:
| Category 1 – Home and community services | Category 2 – Assistive technology and home modifications | Category 3 – Advisory and support services | Category 4 – Personal care and care support in the home or community |
Category 5 – Nursing
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Pricing
The Government has provided indicative pricing which is intended to guide Support at Home providers on setting participant charges that cover the full cost —not just the service delivery component.
The Chorus price therefore needs to incorporate essential overheads and compliance costs that are not covered by the associate provider, including:
- Service delivery
- Software licensing and technology infrastructure
- Invoice processing and administration
- Provider monitoring and quality assurance
- Regulatory compliance and reporting requirements
The indicative pricing is not intended for Associated Providers and it’s important that associated provider pricing allows for a margin so we can meet compliance requirements, maintain high quality services and ensure the associated provider agreements are financially sustainable.
The Aged Care Act in a nutshell
The new Aged Care Act, starting November 1, 2025, focuses on prioritising the rights and needs of older Australians receiving support through the aged care system.
It aims to create a more transparent, accountable, and higher quality aged care system by ensuring older people have choice, control, and are treated with respect and dignity. The Act introduces a Statement of Rights, outlining these rights for individuals accessing government-funded aged care services.
In essence, the new Aged Care Act aims to:
- Empower older people and improve their lives.
- Ensure equitable access to services.
- Support active and meaningful lives.
- Provide a more transparent and accountable system.
- Protect older people from mistreatment and harm.
- Promote high-quality care and a strong workforce.
Information for meals providers
With the introduction of Support at Home and the new Aged Care Standards, providers of meals in Aged Care now need to supply evidence of dietitian assessment and approval for all meals delivered, with a minimum review required on an annual basis. This will be requested through the agreement process in a similar way to the insurance documentation required.
Customers will also need to be able to provide regular feedback regarding the quality of the meals.
For more information regarding these changes please click here; https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-08/guidance-for-in-home-meal-requirements-august-2025.pdf
Frequently asked questions
This section sets out some of the changes that will apply to your delivery of services to our clients from 1 November 2025.
- Applicable laws
You must comply with all applicable laws including the new Aged Care Act and Aged Care Rules 2025 (Cth) including the Strengthened Quality Standards, Code of Conduct, and any associated regulations, rules and principles when delivering services to our clients.The Home Care Manual will be replaced by the Support at Home Program Manual published by the Australian Government, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. A copy of the current draft of the Support at Home Program Manual is available on the Department’s website. Please continue to monitor the website as the Support at Home Manual is continuing to be updated by the Department as the legislation is finalised.If you are providing services to our CHSP clients, there will also be a new CHSP Manual. - Statement of Rights and person-centred care
Support at Home clients will have the rights in the Statement of Rights in the new Aged Care Act. A copy of this document is attached. This replaces the current Charter of Rights.Services must be provided in a manner that upholds and has regard to the rights of clients under the Statement of Rights. Any equipment used must also meet the needs of clients at the time services are provided.
You are also required to ensure that personnel are trained in the Statement of Rights and delivery of person-centred care (as it relates to the services you provide).Updated worker screening requirements
The new Aged Care Act introduces new worker screening obligations. These are in addition to current obligations relating suitability of personnel set out in your agreement. The new working screening obligations require that you must ensure that your personnel that have contact with clients:(a) are not subject to either an exclusion decision or banning order;
(b) have a police certificate, which is not more than 3 years old, which shows that they:
(i) have no conviction for murder, an offence involving the death of a person, sexual assault or other form of assault; and
(ii) in the 5 years before the date of the certificate, have not been convicted of, and sentenced to imprisonment for at least one year for any other sex related offence, including, an office involving child exploitation material or an indecent act involving a child, or any offence involving dishonesty.You must ensure your personnel immediately notify you if there is a change to their suitability. You must not allow personnel to continue providing services if there is a change in circumstance that would mean your personnel no longer meet suitability requirements. You must also immediately notify us if those circumstances arise or there are significant failures concerning or investigation into veracity of your processes to verify the suitability of personnel. - Incident management, privacy, complaints and whistleblowers
You must protect the personal information of clients in accordance with the new Aged Care Act. These obligations are in addition to those contained under other laws relating to privacy.
You must maintain all records in relation to the services, including records that contain personal information, for at least 7 years after the record was created, or any longer period prescribed by law. You must grant us access to all records made in connection with the services as well as to any person authorised under the new Aged Care Act.
We are required to implement and maintain the following policies, procedures and systems that meet the requirements of the new Aged Care Act:(a) an incident management system;
(b) a complaints and feedback management system; and
(c) prudent policies and procedures for ensuring the protection of whistleblowers and appropriate handling of whistleblower disclosures or notifications.
As one of our service providers, you are required to ensure you have appropriate systems, policies and procedures that complement and work with our systems.
You must take appropriate steps to ensure information concerning clients is kept in strict confidence, including information concerning incidents, complaints and feedback.
These obligations around incident management in addition to your existing reporting obligations, including informing us of complaints and mandatory reports under the Serious Incident Response Scheme.
You must not, and must ensure that your personnel do not, victimise or discriminate against anyone for reporting an incident, making a complaint or providing feedback. You must ensure your personnel are aware of these requirements, including that they have undertaken any training reasonably required by us. - Reporting
You must immediately notify us of a change in a client’s funding or eligibility classification by a Government Agency, or steps being taken by or on behalf of a client to change their funding or eligibility classification. - Immunisation and infection control
We have obligations regarding immunisation and infection control under the new Aged Care Act. We require our contractors to meet equivalent standards, including that you must:
(a) ensure personal protective equipment is available to clients, personnel and other persons who need it in connection tit he services, and ensure those persons are supported to correct use the personal protection equipment;
(b) have an appropriate infection prevention and control system for delivery of services; and
(c) use hygienic practices and take appropriate infection prevention and control precautions.
The above list is not exhaustive, and does not limit our ability to provide you with future directions or notifications in respect of the new Aged Care Act.
For more information on the changes and new requirements, please see the links below to more Government information
A new aged care act for the rights of older people
Chorus are working on a standardised referral process. Until this is ready, Chorus Local teams will request services through either email or the Associated Providers preferred method.
Chorus will conduct regular audits to ensure all Associated Providers remain compliant. Please refer to the T&Cs found here for more information on what is required.
If a customer contacts you directly for services they wish to be covered by Support at Home, please advise them to speak to their service provider (e.g. Chorus) to arrange the service. Or you can contact us directly to let us know and we can speak to the customer to ensure their package can cover their request.
Chorus has a team to work directly with Associated Providers to help with any queries, support with documentation and understanding of the new requirements. Email: associatedproviders@chorus.org.au
