Aged Care worker screening requirements in 2026
From 1 November 2025, every Aged Care worker needs a National Police Check under three years old or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance. Here is what the rules require.
On this page
Every Aged Care worker and responsible person needs one of two things: a National Police Check (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) no more than three years old that does not record certain offences, or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance. That rule has applied since the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025 commenced on 1 November 2025, in residential care and home care alike.
This guide sets out what the rules require as at October 2026. The source is the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's page on screening requirements for the Aged Care workforce (last updated 2 March 2026) and its worker screening guidance material (version 2.0, March 2026).
Key facts at a glance
| Question | Answer (checked 6 October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Accepted checks | A National Police Check no older than 3 years, or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance |
| Who needs one | Every Aged Care worker and responsible person, including volunteers, contractors and support staff |
| NDIS clearance validity | 5 years, recognised in every state and territory |
| Starting before the check returns | Allowed only after applying, under supervision, with a statutory declaration |
| Screening records | Kept for 7 years from the day each record is made |
| National screening check | Proposed, no start date (see the status section below) |
The two accepted checks
Every Aged Care worker and responsible person must hold one of two things:
- A National Police Check (also called a national criminal history check) no older than three years that does not record certain precluding offences, or
- An NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, which is valid for five years and recognised in every state and territory.
These are the only two options. A worker who holds a valid NDIS Worker Screening Clearance does not also need a National Police Check. If an NDIS clearance is nearing its five-year mark, our guide to renewing an NDIS Worker Screening Check covers the timing.
Three years is the maximum age the law allows for a National Police Check, not a recommendation. A check approaching three years old is a single snapshot taken long before the worker starts. Many providers ask for a more recent check obtained for the role, and providers can set their own policy above the legal floor. We unpack this in do you need a new police check for a new care job.
AHPRA is not a third option
Registration with AHPRA does not satisfy the screening requirement. A registered nurse or allied health practitioner still needs a National Police Check under three years old or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance.
What a National Police Check must not record
The guidance names the precluding offences a National Police Check must not record. For most registered providers they are a conviction for murder, a conviction for sexual assault, and a conviction with imprisonment for any other form of assault.
Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFACP) providers work from a different list: a conviction for an offence involving the death of a person, and certain offences in the past five years that carried imprisonment of one year or longer. That list applies to people engaged from 1 November 2025, and to existing workers when they next obtain a National Police Check. Read the guidance material for the full wording before you decide on a check that records anything.
Who the rules cover
The definition of an "Aged Care worker" is deliberately wide. It includes:
- Workers engaged directly by a registered provider, plus those engaged through associated providers, subcontractors and digital platforms
- Volunteers, contractors and labour-hire workers
- Health professionals contracted by the provider
- Workers engaged through self-management and paid through the provider
- Support roles such as kitchen, cleaning, laundry, garden and office staff
Responsible persons, such as CEOs, board members, executives and directors of nursing, are subject to the same screening requirements as workers. Secondary-school students on formal work experience are exempt, provided they are directly supervised by someone who holds a National Police Check or NDIS clearance.
The extra layer for directors and key personnel
Responsible persons clear the same screening as any worker (a National Police Check under three years old or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance), and then they carry a governance check on top. To establish suitability as a director or key personnel, the person needs either:
- a Director identification number, an AFSA national personal insolvency index search and an ASIC banned and disqualified register check (all three), or
- an Aged Care responsible person suitability declaration.
This sits alongside the worker screening. A director still needs a current National Police Check or NDIS clearance as well as the governance check.
Starting work while a check is pending
A worker can begin under interim arrangements only if all three of these are true:
- They have applied for the National Police Check or NDIS clearance.
- They work under appropriate supervision.
- They make a statutory declaration confirming they have never been convicted of a relevant precluding offence.
A statutory declaration cannot replace a National Police Check that is already more than three years old. The guidance is explicit that the interim route does not apply to existing workers or responsible persons whose check is more than three years old: a fresh check is required. A declaration is also needed where a person has been a citizen or permanent resident of another country after turning 16.
State variations
South Australia has a jurisdiction-specific equivalent. For responsible persons in South Australia and workers delivering funded Aged Care there, the Aged Care Sector Employment Check, issued under the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 (SA), satisfies the National Police Check requirement.
What providers must do
Screening is a provider obligation. Beyond confirming each worker holds a valid check, providers keep screening records for seven years from the day each record is made, including after a worker leaves. The guidance lists what those records hold: the person's full name, date of birth and address, the National Police Check or NDIS clearance and any statutory declaration, and the name of the hiring manager or supervisor who checked it.
Registered providers must also check the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's register of banning orders regularly. The provider screening and record-keeping checklist turns these duties into steps.
National Aged Care worker screening check: current status (October 2026)
The Australian Government is working with the states and territories on a national worker screening check for the whole care and support economy, which would align Aged Care with the NDIS check. As at 6 October 2026:
- There is no start date. The Department's screening requirements page, last updated 2 March 2026, says the work is led by a taskforce within the Department of Finance. Earlier guidance said a new check would come no earlier than mid-2026; that timing no longer appears on the page, and version 2.0 of the guidance material removed its section on future screening requirements.
- Consultation has closed. The Department of Finance's consultation on the feasibility of a national approach to worker screening closed on 7 October 2025. No outcome has been published.
- It needs state and territory law. Screening is run by state and territory units, so a national check depends on their legislation as well as the Commonwealth's.
Separately, a national registration scheme for personal care workers is in design. Consultation ran from 18 February to 17 April 2025 and a summary report followed in September 2025, with no start date since.
Until a national check is legislated and commences, the National Police Check or NDIS clearance rule above is the one that applies. We keep both reforms on the care workforce regulatory calendar, and our look at the future Aged Care worker register works through what they could mean.
How Koora fits
Koora's compliance engine checks each worker's National Police Check or NDIS clearance against what their role requires and tracks its expiry date, so an approaching lapse shows up before it becomes a gap. An uploaded National Police Check and an NDIS clearance are reviewed by a person once a worker shares their passport or a provider requests access, or across an organisation's own records through the Crew add-on. Verifying NDIS clearances against the source is on our roadmap. Koora screens workers against the public ban registers, including the Aged Care banning orders register, and keeps screening them. The legal responsibility to screen the workforce, keep the records and decide who works stays with the provider.
Authoritative sources
- Screening requirements for the Aged Care workforce: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- Aged Care worker screening guidance material, version 2.0: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, March 2026
- Register of banning orders: Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
- NDIS Worker Screening: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Frequently asked questions
Does AHPRA registration meet the Aged Care screening requirement?
No. AHPRA registration is not an accepted screening option. Every Aged Care worker and responsible person must hold either a National Police Check less than three years old or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, even if they are a registered nurse or allied health practitioner.
How long is each check valid?
A National Police Check can be accepted for up to three years from its issue date. An NDIS Worker Screening Clearance is valid for five years and is recognised in all states and territories. Three years is the maximum age the law allows for a National Police Check, not a recommendation. Many providers ask for a more recent check obtained for the role, and a worker who holds a valid NDIS clearance does not also need a National Police Check.
Can a worker start before their check comes back?
Only under interim arrangements: the worker must have applied for the check, work under appropriate supervision, and make a statutory declaration that they have no precluding offences. A statutory declaration cannot stand in for a National Police Check that is already more than three years old, a fresh one is required.
Do these rules cover contractors and kitchen staff?
Yes. The definition of an Aged Care worker is broad. It covers contractors, labour-hire and digital-platform workers, and roles such as kitchen, cleaning, laundry, garden and office staff, as well as responsible persons like directors and executives.
This is general information, not compliance advice. Always confirm requirements with the relevant regulator, and remember that providers keep the legal responsibility to sight credentials and decide who can work.
We work hard to keep everything accurate, and our compliance engine keeps up with the rules as they change. Even so, we might get a detail slightly wrong or miss something. No one's perfect. If you think something here needs updating, email us at resources@koora.care. We would genuinely rather know, because we all do better when we help each other get it right.
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