Aged care commissioner dismisses closure concerns

The aged care commissioner says she would be surprised if providers would need to shut their doors due to new nursing staffing levels.

New legislation requires aged care facilities to meet around-the-clock nursing requirements from July 1.

There has been concern not all aged care providers would be able to meet the target, especially in regional areas with staff shortages.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson said she did not expect the legislation would lead to closures despite industry concern.

"I would be beyond surprised if a service was making a call to close their doors just because there were new responsibilities being introduced," she told Perth radio station 6PR on Wednesday.

"We've been absolutely clear to the sector that non-compliance with the new responsibilities, if a service is trying hard and delivering safe quality care, will not result in any decision on our part that would force a service to close its doors."

The staffing changes were a major election commitment by Labor, with legislation passing the federal parliament in October last year.

Ms Anderson said while there had been workforce pressures within the sector, the commission would not be forcing services to close if quality care was being provided.

"As long as they're delivering care which is safe, and have good quality and is meeting all the residents' needs, they have nothing to worry about from the regulator," she said.

"We are not in the business of forcing closures if services are doing the right thing by the residents."

Health Minister Mark Butler said the nursing requirements would lead to better care for residents.

"We make no apology for taking a very strong view about the importance of nursing and nursing homes," he told reporters in Canberra.

"We recognise that some of the sector will have difficulty doing this, and we're going to take a risk-based approach to this."

Mr Butler said large numbers of aged care facilities would be able to comply to the requirements.

"We're not going to be heavy-handed about it. We want to see all of these facilities come through this wave of reforms that are designed to improve the care provided to our most vulnerable Australians," he said.

"There are exemption arrangements for small facilities, particularly in rural areas that will have difficulty attracting nurses."