Publish date: 5 May 2025
The new Strengthened Aged Care Standards , coming into effect on 1 July 2025, mark a significant milestone in Australia’s commitment to enhancing the quality of aged care services. These reforms, stemming from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, signal a national commitment to dignity, respect, and quality in the way Australia supports older people.
Focussed on person-centred care, greater transparency, and a rights-based framework the reforms honour the full humanity of every individual in care. For aged care providers, this is a moment for change. But for Bethanie, it’s confirmation of a path we’ve been walking since 1954.
We welcome the Strengthened Standards as an opportunity to lead the way in how Australians experience ageing.
A rights-based approach to ageing
Central to the Strengthened Standards is a clear and powerful message: older Australians are not passive recipients of care, you are active rights holders who make informed decisions about your care, lifestyle, and daily activities. The reforms celebrate individuality, value personal identity, acknowledge culture and history, and seek to transform the aged care experience into one where your rights are upheld, your voice is heard, and your aspirations are respected. Gone are the days of regimented, routine-based care at the expense of independence or silenced preferences. And at Bethanie, those days were never welcome to begin with. For more than 70 years, we’ve built a culture that respects individual autonomy, supports unique preferences, and truly sees the person behind the care journey.
At Bethanie, we believe everyone is a valued member of society. We see ageing Australians as dynamic people who’ve led (and should continue to lead) interesting, purposeful and fulfilling lives. Because science (and life) tells us that true happiness comes from feeling valued. From being given the opportunity to meaningfully contribute, to give back, and to share with others.
A rights-based approach isn’t just a new standard. It’s the only standard we’ve ever accepted.
Lives that aren’t filled – they’re full
Real quality of life comes from asking the right questions. Bethanie begins every care journey by seeking to understand what really matters to each person in our care. What brings you joy? What helps you feel independent, and connected? What do you want your days to look like?
For our customers and our communities, this may mean expressing self creatively, contributing to community groups, continuing to enjoy lifelong passions, or simply just laughing with those you love. No one should lose the right to meaningful experiences as they age, and the world shouldn’t be deprived of what you have to offer.
By starting with an understanding of each of our customer’s meaning and intention, and working together in partnership, we’re creating environments where lives aren’t filled - they’re full.
Listening and learning, always
Bethanie has long recognised that high quality care is shaped by the people who receive it. That’s why we actively seek feedback from our customers and their families.
Through our Voice of Customer program, surveys, and ongoing feedback, we’re constantly learning what’s working, what could be improved and what we might not yet have considered. It’s a daily commitment to reflect with an open mind and an open heart about our customers' needs, preferences, and experiences.
Our commitment reflects a responsive and transparent approach, recognising that safe, effective care begins with a culture of trust. At Bethanie, customer voice is not just a survey result. It's a real-time driver of change to ensure our customers are truly understood, and our operations remain safe and effective.
Clinical care with dignity
Across our facilities, clinical teams work in close partnership with customers and their families to deliver holistic support. Whether we’re managing medications, chronic health conditions, or rehabilitation, our focus is on achieving outcomes that matter to the person not just the diagnosis.
Interconnectedness is key and physical health doesn’t exist in isolation. Spiritual, emotional and mental health play equal parts in contributing to living and ageing well. Bethanie’s model of care has always connected the dots to support the whole person as their clinical needs or preferences change.
We get that respecting the dignity of customers also includes providing freedom to take risks. Naturally, our responsibility is to help those in our care understand the risks involved but many of our customers consider independence with their own care – including the right to take risks – as integral to their dignity and quality of life. “Whose risks are we seeking to limit”, is a question we often ask of ourselves and there is not always an easy answer. So while it’s a complex concept, we take the time to listen, we seek to understand, and we aim to strike a balance between our responsibilities and individual wishes.
Nourishing the body and soul
Our hospitality team work closely with nutritionists and customers to co-design menus that are fresh, seasonal, diverse, and personal. From special dietary requirements to childhood food favourites, we see mealtimes as important moments of comfort, memory, and connection.
Some customers enjoy their meals together, accompanied by laughter, conversation, and a glass of wine. While others may prefer dining peacefully in the garden at a time to suit their appetite. Putting our customers in control of when and where they eat is already part of the Bethanie way. Because at Bethanie, we understand that food is more than fuel, it’s part of loving life.
Environments designed for real people
From high care to home care we get that environments affect how people feel every day, and how days are remembered.
We design our places of care to be safe, and also familiar, warm, and uplifting - because our homes are built around real people. Lounges for conversation, gardens for contemplation, art rooms for creativity, and gyms for mobility. These spaces meet practical needs, as well as nurturing connection, comfort, and joy.
Creating environments that are clean, safe, and well-suited to the delivery of care extends to our Support at Home services. That means maintaining high standards of hygiene, ensuring equipment is clean and in good condition, and always remembering we are guests in someone else’s home.
These are not extras, they are part of how we delivery quality care every day. Bethanie creates environments where safety and accessibility are a given, but where people also feel right at home.
The power of community
For Bethanie, social inclusion, relationships, and a sense of belonging has never been an afterthought. The ability to live as part of a community, to contribute, to feel seen, and to connect with others is fundamental to ageing well.
We host intergenerational programs, run customer-led activities, support spiritual expression, celebrate long-lived rituals, and partner with local organisations to bring life into our homes and our homes into community life.
When people feel they matter, they thrive. The Strengthened Standards create a powerful foundation for safety, care, and support. At Bethanie, we’ve aways been driven to go further; to listen, understand, and support our customers’ interests. These reforms reinforce what we’ve long believed – that every Australian should lead their most meaningful lives. Together, we’re building not just an improved aged care system, but positively changing the way Australians experience ageing – every customer, every family, every community, every day.
