Aged Care Manager

An Aged Care Manager oversees the daily operations of residential aged care facilities or community aged care services in Australia, ensuring compliance with aged care standards, managing staff and budgets, and maintaining quality of care standards. They report to executive leadership and are responsible for implementing government policy, managing rostering and training of care workers, and liaising with regulators including the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. The role operates within the Aged Care Quality Standards.

Develop and implement aged care service delivery policies aligned with Aged Care Quality Standards and NDIS requirements where applicable. Manage staffing including recruitment, induction, rostering, and performance management of aged care workers and nurses. Prepare and monitor budgets for care operations, staffing costs, and capital expenditure. Conduct or oversee incident, accident, and complaint investigations in accordance with aged care legislation and reporting obligations. Prepare for and respond to regulatory inspections and audits by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Implement infection control protocols and emergency response plans compliant with Safe Work Australia guidelines and aged care standards. Develop and monitor care plans ensuring they meet individual resident needs and quality standards requirements. Liaise with families, GPs, and allied health professionals regarding resident care outcomes and service changes.

The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

The real grind is managing aged care compliance: it's relentless paperwork, constant regulatory changes, and investigations into incidents that can be emotionally draining. Staff turnover is brutal; you'll spend huge energy recruiting and training care workers who often leave quickly. One serious compliance breach can damage your career reputation badly.

Regional areas have fewer positions but less competition. Most jobs are in residential aged care homes and community care services run by not-for-profits, private operators, or government. Remote work isn't common: you need to be on-site managing staff and dealing with regulators face-to-face.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 1342, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Conflict Resolutioncore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Participant or Client Advocacycore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Report Writingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workflow Prioritisationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
• Goal Setting and Planning
• Incident Reporting
• Quality Assurance and Checking
• Record Management
• Rostering and Scheduling Support

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Aged Care Manager workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026