The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) has been a core part of residential aged care compliance since 2021. But from 1 November 2025, SIRS obligations expanded to cover all registered aged care providers — including those delivering services under the new Support at Home program.

What SIRS requires

Under SIRS, providers must have an incident management system in place to identify, manage, resolve, and take steps to prevent serious incidents. There are eight categories of reportable incidents, including unreasonable use of force, neglect, psychological or emotional abuse, and unexpected death.

Incidents are classified into two priority levels. Priority 1 incidents — those involving a significant risk to the safety, health, or wellbeing of an older person — must be reported to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission within 24 hours. Priority 2 incidents must be reported within 30 calendar days. A final report is required for all incidents within 60 days of the initial notification.

Why the expansion matters

Previously, SIRS only applied to residential aged care. With the launch of Support at Home replacing Home Care Packages, the government has extended SIRS to ensure that older people receiving care in their own homes have the same protections as those in residential settings.

For home care providers, this means establishing or reviewing incident management processes, training staff on what constitutes a reportable incident, and ensuring your reporting workflows meet the required timeframes.

How Coverage can help

Coverage's upcoming incident reporting feature is designed to support high-level SIRS reporting, helping you track incidents, identify trends, and generate board-ready summaries. In the meantime, the platform's conformance tracking can help you document your incident management processes as evidence against the relevant Standards.