Specialisation verification for aged care services
When choosing an aged care provider, it’s important to know which providers can offer services, staffing, and an environment that best caters to your needs.
All government-funded aged care providers must respect your identity, background, and individual needs or preferences. This is outlined in the Aged Care Act 2024.
Some providers tailor their services to specific groups or communities. This is called Specialisation Verification. It helps you be confident that providers’ claims of specialised care have been verified by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing using the Specialisation Verification Framework.
On this page
What is specialisation verification?
Specialisation Verification checks a provider’s claim that they offer care or services for a specific group or community against the Specialisation Verification Framework.
The framework sets out what a provider must demonstrate so you can be confident that they have the right skills, experience, and understanding to support you in a safe, respectful, and culturally appropriate way.
Where can I find verified specialist providers?
You can use the ‘specialised care’ filter on the Find a provider tool to search for aged care providers that provide services to the group or community you are interested in.
Non-verified inclusive services
Many providers offer inclusive services that are not formally verified. Some specialise in delivering certain types of care and supports. This can be in areas such as:
- dementia
- delivering services in one or more languages
- catering to specific cultural or spiritual groups
- supporting specific food requirements.
These are not covered by the verification framework and are self-reported by providers.
You can filter for different health support, faith, and language options in the Find a provider tool.
You can also ask people you know, community centres, or faith and cultural groups for recommendations about providers that can meet your needs.
Support when choosing a provider
If you need support to access providers, you can also:
- ask your assessor to refer you to a local provider, who will then contact you directly
- call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for guidance.
There are also people and services that can help you navigate the aged care system, if you need it.