Minimising the use of restraints

Amendments have been made to the Quality of Care Principles 2014 (Cth) to minimise the use of chemical and physical restraints in residential care settings, and to include specific requirements of aged care providers in relation to their use.

Requirements of  providers include:

  •  thoroughly documenting any planned use of restraint in a client’s care plan,
  • obtaining client consent,
  • notifying a client’s representative, and
  • obtaining authorisation from an appropriate health professional.

Additionally, the Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Quality Indicator Program) Principles 2019 (Cth) – which took effect from 1 July 2019 – require that use of physical restraint in aged care facilities must be submitted and documented through the MyAged Care Portal. The Aged Care Quality Standards also require that clinical care is best practice and is supported by a clinical governance framework that minimises the use of restraint.

For these reasons, it is pivotal that organisations understand the regulatory requirements around the use of restraint. To assist organisations in this regard,  BNG has developed a policy which incorporates these regulatory requirements. 

Find our policy template on SPP, in the Reading Room:

  • Policy: Eliminating the Use of Restraints (Aged Care)

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SPP has been a great resource for understanding and mapping Standards, preparing for Audits and also sourcing resources for policy development. I would recommend it to other organisations to complement their quality and compliance work. Information can be easily shared, and evidence gathered to support all work done.
Community mental health service provider, Victoria
I like the speed and ease of SPP, I love how it maps multiple standards. It’s so convenient, I couldn’t imagine the nightmare to do the work manually. The templates are great for gap analysis. SPP resource templates are great for implementing new policies in the office and for what we do day to day.
Large provider of settlement services to immigrants, New South Wales
I have found the SPP system amazing. It provides a structured way to work through the standards and then provide a succinct report on the evidence being provided for a surveyor to view how we meet the standard. I used this in our recent accreditation survey, the auditor was very impressed, AND we are now accredited for ISO 9001. Thanks again. A great system.
Provider of diverse range of health programs, Queensland
We really like SPP. We use the resources in the Reading Room and couldn't have passed our accreditation with flying colours without SPP.
Advocacy, support and education provider, Australian Capital Territory
Everything is going well with SPP. It’s helped us through three lots of accreditation over the past nine months plus some internal auditing, so I’m very glad to have had it to assist us through the processes.
Large regional multi-service provider, Victoria