Aged Care worker screening requirements in 2026
From 1 November 2025, every Aged Care worker needs a police certificate under three years old or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance. Here is what the rules require.
On 1 November 2025, the Aged Care Act 2024 changed how Aged Care providers screen their workforce. The rules are now consistent across residential care and home care, and they reach further into the workforce than many providers expect. This guide explains what is required. The screening requirements for the Aged Care workforce are published by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
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) issued within the last 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 police certificate.
Note that "issued within the last three years" is the maximum age the law allows for a police certificate, not a recommendation. A certificate approaching three years old is still a single snapshot taken long before the worker starts. Best practice is 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 police certificate under three years old or an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance.
Who the rules cover
The definition of an "Aged Care worker" is deliberately wide. It includes:
- Workers engaged directly, plus those engaged through subcontractors, associated providers and digital platforms
- Volunteers and contractors
- Health professionals contracted by 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. Supervised secondary-school students on work experience are exempt.
The extra layer for directors and key personnel
Responsible persons clear the same screening as any worker (a police certificate 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, not instead of it. A director still needs a current police certificate 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 police certificate or NDIS clearance.
- They work under appropriate supervision.
- They make a statutory declaration confirming they have never been convicted of a precluding offence.
A statutory declaration cannot replace a police certificate that has already expired. In that case a fresh certificate is required. A declaration is also needed where a police-certificate holder has been a citizen or permanent resident of another country since turning 16.
State variations
South Australia has a jurisdiction-specific equivalent. For workers and responsible persons delivering funded Aged Care in South Australia, the Aged Care Sector Employment Check, issued under the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 (SA), satisfies the police-certificate requirement.
What providers must do
Screening is a provider obligation. Beyond confirming each worker holds a valid check, providers must keep records of screening status and act when a credential is due to expire. The provider screening and record-keeping checklist covers those duties in detail, including how long records must be kept.
A platform like Koora can pre-clear and monitor these credentials so nothing lapses unnoticed, but the legal responsibility to keep the workforce compliant stays with the provider.
What is coming next
The Australian Government has proposed a national worker screening check for the whole care and support economy that would align Aged Care with the NDIS check and make one clearance portable across both sectors. The new ways of working in Aged Care program sets out this direction. It is expected no earlier than mid-2026 and depends on state and territory legislation, so the detail is not yet settled. For a considered look at what that could mean, read what the Aged Care worker register might look like.
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 it accurate, but the rules change and we will not always get every detail right. 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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