Meeting the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards – Food and nutrition
May 27, 2026
The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards set a clear expectation for how care should be delivered across residential and in-home settings in Australia. What do you need to do to ensure older people receive safe, high-quality nutrition care that supports their dignity, well-being and overall quality of life?
Standard 1: The individual
Treat your residents with dignity and respect, ensuring their preferences, needs and cultural values are reflected in daily care. Celebrate special occasions and tailor meals to individual preferences to further reinforce person-centred care. Provide genuine choice and ensure clear communication. Offer two hot choices at lunch and flexible evening meals, to support autonomy and enjoyment. Make sure residents are aware of all options available to them to facilitate choice.
Standard 2: The organisation
Ensure your service has the right people, systems and governance in place to provide safe and appropriate nutrition. Involve residents in menu development, actively seek feedback on meals and dining experiences, and respond to concerns. Clear policies, procedures and documentation support consistency and compliance, while appropriate oversight, including a nutrition committee, ensures accountability. Staff must also be trained and equipped to deliver on these expectations.
Standard 3: The care and services
Clearly define each resident’s nutrition and hydration needs, ensuring care plans are developed with input from residents and their families. Care plans should be communicated, implemented and regularly reviewed, with outcomes monitored and adjusted as needs change.
Standard 4: The environment
Maintain a safe, well-functioning setting, with equipment such as scales (calibrated regularly) and kitchen facilities that are fit for purpose. Ensure equipment is used safely and maintained appropriately to support consistent food preparation and service.
Standard 5: Clinical care
Identify and respond to risks such as malnutrition, dehydration, dysphagia, diabetes, allergies and other dietary needs. Effective monitoring and timely intervention are essential to reducing complications to support overall health outcomes.
Standard 6: Food and nutrition
Food and drink must be delivered in a way that supports both compliance and the resident experience. Clearly communicate menus in a suitable format for all residents, ensuring all options are available and accessible. Documented menus, including recipes, portion sizes and utensils, ensure adequate staffing to support consistency. Residents should also be supported daily to make informed choices, with suitable alternatives available when needed.
Strong systems must be in place to ensure the correct meal is served to the correct resident, and that meals align with the planned menu. To meet compliance requirements, an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) must be involved in menu planning, and a menu and mealtime assessment must be completed at least annually.
Beyond compliance, the mealtime experience itself is critical. A protected mealtimes approach should be followed, while still allowing flexibility around when and where residents eat, including access to food outside standard mealtimes and overnight. Meals must be visually appealing, served at the correct temperature and tailored to individual needs, including texture-modified diets.
The dining environment should feel welcoming and homely, with careful management of lighting, noise and smells. Minimise disruptions such as cleaning and medication rounds, and ensure sufficient staff are available to support residents during meals.
Standard 7: The residential community
Support residents to maintain connections with their community, enabling participation in social activities and relationships. Where food is involved, it should enhance connection, inclusion and overall well-being.
Meeting the Strengthened Standards requires a consistent, person-centred approach supported by clinical expertise. Nutrition Professionals Australia (NPA) provides flexible menu and mealtime assessments to help you meet compliance requirements while improving resident outcomes. By working closely with care, kitchen and management teams, NPA delivers practical, tailored recommendations that strengthen both compliance and the overall mealtime experience.
