Sarah, who works as a Director of Nursing at a semi-rural aged care facility, has always been committed to providing the best possible care. With a team of hardworking staff who genuinely care for their residents, she believes they are doing their utmost. But they are being stretched too far.
The load of new reforms, escalating expectations from regulators, and constant form-filling is beginning to feel insurmountable. “We want to do what’s right for our residents,” Sarah explains. “But we’re so overworked, it feels like the system is setting us up to fail. We’ve got excellent staff, but they’re expected to perform miracles without the necessary resources.”
Wanting to draw attention to what she sees as a growing problem, Sarah contacted Hello Leaders under anonymity. Her concern lies with what she terms compliance theatre: the disconnect between what policies require on paper and what’s truly taking place within aged care homes.
This is not about laziness or intentional neglect. It’s about a system under siege. Many providers are struggling to tick the right boxes while falling short in practice.
This type of performance, often referred to as “soft non-compliance”, is quietly corroding the sector. As the new Aged Care Act nears and oversight intensifies, soft non-compliance is becoming increasingly prevalent. It isn’t criminal, nor is it malicious, but it is widespread.
Soft non-compliance sits in the murky space between outright violations and genuinely meeting care standards. It can look like an incomplete risk assessment, a policy that’s been refreshed just to pass an audit, or a training module ticked off without true understanding or application. While these actions appear compliant on the surface, they often conceal genuine gaps in care.
“It’s like we’re performing for the auditors,” says Sarah. “We do the paperwork, check the boxes, and make sure it looks good. But at night, on the floor, staff are run off their feet, call bells are left too long, care plans are out-of-date because everyone is already at capacity. It’s not illegal, but it isn’t genuine compliance either. It’s theatre, and residents are the ones who miss out.”
The roots of soft non-compliance are deeply embedded in systemic challenges. Workforce shortages are one of the biggest contributors. In 2024, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare identified a gap of more than 30,000 aged care workers, a number that’s expected to keep climbing.
With fewer hands on deck, frontline staff are forced to prioritise immediate care over forms and processes, which can lead to critical gaps in documentation and follow-through.
Added to that is reform fatigue. The upcoming Aged Care Act will bring yet another wave of policies, documentation requirements, and audits. While the reforms aim to improve care, they often swamp providers, especially smaller ones, with bureaucratic tasks they simply don’t have the capacity to manage.
“We’re exhausted by all the new rules,” Sarah says. “Every week there’s something new. A different policy, another form, a fresh system we’re supposed to learn. But no one gives us extra hours or team members to help us implement it. So we do what we can to keep the regulators off our back, but we know it’s not good enough.”
And while digital transformation was meant to ease the burden, it often adds to it. Clunky platforms, lack of training, and poor system integration create confusion and inaccuracies. According to the Aged Care Industry Information Technology Council, 60 per cent of aged care providers struggled in 2024 to integrate new digital tools. This often results in incorrect or incomplete data, which is another subtle form of non-compliance.
The consequences of soft non-compliance are felt not just by residents but also by the workforce. Staff are constantly balancing immediate care needs with endless administrative tasks, leading to burnout, fatigue, and disillusionment.
The pressure to meet standards without enough support wears people down. Many staff know they’re doing their best, yet they’re made to feel as though they’re never quite doing enough.
Sarah sees the toll every day. “I’m out there with my team trying to give residents the best care possible,” she says. “But we’re running on fumes. No matter how much we do, it never feels like we’re keeping up. It’s heartbreaking. I see it in my staff’s eyes. They’re starting to shut down emotionally, like they’re losing the passion that brought them into this work. I’m scared that if this continues, they’ll stop believing in it altogether.”
This emotional erosion can lead to more corner-cutting, not from bad intent, but sheer exhaustion. As engagement drops and turnover climbs, the cycle worsens. New staff enter already struggling environments, and soft non-compliance becomes baked into the culture.
The effects of soft non-compliance aren’t always obvious until something goes seriously wrong. A fall that could have been prevented, a missed medication dose, or an incident that highlights care plan inaccuracies can quickly bring the cracks into the spotlight.
Families and residents feel it too. Delayed responses, rushed interactions, or inconsistent care are signs that something isn’t right beneath the surface.
“This whole act we put on doesn’t fool the residents,” Sarah says. “They know when their buzzer’s ignored for half an hour or when care’s rushed. And bless them, many of them actually feel sorry for us. They see how hard we’re working.”
For providers, soft non-compliance can mean regulatory action, loss of funding, or public reputational damage. But the human cost is harder to measure—burned-out staff, fractured trust, and a disillusioned workforce.
If aged care is serious about lifting standards, the sector must also address the reality on the ground. Without practical and financial support, compliance becomes a box-ticking exercise rather than real change. Here’s what could make a difference:
Properly Fund Reform: New standards must be backed by adequate funding for training, staffing, and digital infrastructure. Without it, reforms cannot take root.
Support the Front Line: Reforms should be embedded into everyday routines with practical, tailored support, not just abstract policies and audit demands.
Focus on Outcomes: Regulators should assess the quality of care through outcomes—are residents receiving timely, compassionate support?—not just whether a checklist has been completed.
Promote Honest Conversations: Providers need to be able to speak truthfully about their limitations without fear. Open dialogue between governments, regulators, and services is vital.
“We need to stop pretending everything’s fine,” says Sarah. “Leaders have to have the courage to say, ‘We’re trying, but we’re drowning here.’ Otherwise, we’re just performing for the auditors. And that’s not what our residents deserve. Maybe someone from government should walk through an aged care facility and see the reality for themselves.”
Absolutely true. It also results in a top heavy workforce, namely, administrative staff, senior clinical staff, clinical staff…all there to tick the boxes and complete paperwork and reports. To gain compliance. And what’s left of the budget is spent on staff directly caring for residents. Residents are the ones that miss out. Staff on the floor are dissolutioned, as well as upset about the top heavy staffing structure. This in turn, causes a fractured work culture, which impacts on the residents as well.