Training Requirement: Outcome 1.1 - Person-Centred Care

If you're reading this, you likely need to understand exactly what training is required for Outcome 1.1 Person-Centred Care under the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. This outcome is the cornerstone of providing quality aged care, and getting the training right is critical for compliance and, more importantly, for providing care that truly reflects who each person is and what matters most to them.

Outcome 1.1 is a part of Standard 1, which we cover as a whole in this Guide.

Let's walk through exactly what this means for your training programs and how to implement it systematically.

Understanding What Outcome 1.1 Actually Requires

Under the strengthened standards, providers must demonstrate that they understand the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of individuals as the primary consideration in service provision. This breaks down into four key training areas that your staff must master:

First, your workers need to identify and understand each person's particular backgrounds, cultures, diversity, beliefs, and life experiences. This isn't a one-time assessment during admission - it's an ongoing process that directly influences how services are provided every day. Your training must equip workers to recognise if someone identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (Action 1.1.2c), understand cultural protocols and connection to Country, and adapt their approach for people from diverse backgrounds including LGBTIQA+ communities, veterans, care leavers, and those experiencing homelessness or mental health challenges.

Second, Action 1.1.2(b) specifically requires your staff to identify and understand particular communication needs and preferences. Your training must address both verbal and non-verbal communication strategies, cultural communication preferences, and trauma-informed communication approaches.

Third, the outcome explicitly requires services that are culturally safe, trauma aware, and healing informed, in accordance with contemporary, evidence-based practice (Action 1.1.2e). This represents a significant ongoing training requirement that must be regularly updated.

Fourth, Action 1.1.3 requires recognition of rights and respect for autonomy, including rights to intimacy and sexual and gender expression. Your training must address rights-based care principles, autonomy support, and dignity of risk.

The Four Essential Training Areas You Need to Cover

Based on these requirements, you need to implement four core training areas. Here's how to structure them:

Area	Duration	Content Focus	Assessment Requirements	Ausmed Training Modules
Area 1: Cultural Safety and Diversity	4 hours initial 2 hours annual refresher	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural protocols, LGBTIQA+ inclusive practices, CALD community needs, trauma recognition	Demonstration of culturally appropriate assessments and providing adaptive care	Culturally Safe, Trauma-Aware and Healing-Informed Care (25m) Cultural Safety in Healthcare (25m) LGBTIQ+ in Aged Care (22m)
Area 2: Person-Centred Communication	3 hours initial Annual competency assessment	Active listening, adaptive communication for impairments, cultural communication preferences, documentation	Practical demonstration of effective communication with diverse individuals	Person-Centred, Rights-Based Care for the Older Person (12m) Communicating in Aged Care (24m)
Area 3: Relationship Building and Professional Boundaries	2 hours initial Annual scenario-based refresher	Building trust, maintaining professional relationships, supporting autonomy, respecting relationship choices	Case study analysis demonstrating boundary management and relationship support	The Code of Conduct for Aged Care (15m) Intimacy and Sexuality in Aged Care (30m) Privacy, Confidentiality, Dignity and Personal Information in Aged Care (22m)
Area 4: Trauma-Informed and Healing-Informed Care	4 hours initial 2 hours annual update	Trauma recognition, trauma-informed care principles, healing-informed approaches, psychological safety	Ability to identify trauma responses and implement appropriate care modifications	Culturally Safe, Trauma-Aware and Healing-Informed Care (25m) Standard 1: The Individual (10m)

The Standard 1: The Individual (10m) training module should be foundational across all modules as it directly addresses Outcome 1.1 requirements.

Breaking Down Each Training Area

Area 1: Cultural Safety and Diversity - Your Foundation

This module addresses the core of Action 1.1.2, which requires you to identify and understand individual backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences. Your training must cover three essential areas:

Training Component	Description	Ausmed Training Modules
Cultural Competency Assessment	Learn to recognise and document Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identity, understanding cultural protocols and connection to Country and Island Home	Standard 1: The Individual (10m) Cultural Safety in Healthcare (25m)
Diversity Recognition Training	Comprehensive education on supporting individuals from CALD backgrounds, LGBTIQA+ communities, veterans, care leavers, and those experiencing homelessness or mental health challenges	LGBTIQ+ in Aged Care (22m) Culturally Safe, Trauma-Aware and Healing-Informed Care (25m)
Life Story Methodology	Practical skills in gathering and utilising life history information to inform daily care decisions and approaches to providing services	Person-Centred, Rights-Based Care for the Older Person (12m)

Area 2: Communication Excellence - Meeting Action 1.1.2(b)

This training directly responds to the specific requirement to understand communication needs and preferences. Focus your training on these areas:

Communication Area	Training Focus	Ausmed Training Modules
Adaptive Communication Techniques	Methods for communicating with individuals who have hearing, vision, or speech impairments	Communicating in Aged Care (24m)
Cultural Communication Preferences	Understanding how different cultural backgrounds influence communication styles, eye contact preferences, and family involvement	Cultural Safety in Healthcare (25m) Standard 1: The Individual (10m)
Trauma-Informed Communication	Recognising signs of past trauma and adjusting communication approaches to ensure safety and trust	Culturally Safe, Trauma-Aware and Healing-Informed Care (25m)

Area 3: Rights and Boundaries - Action 1.1.3 in Practice

Action 1.1.3 requires you to recognise rights and respect autonomy, including rights to intimacy and sexual and gender expression. This is often overlooked in training programs, but it's essential for compliance. Your training must address:

Rights Area	Training Content	Ausmed Training Modules
Rights-Based Care Principles	Understanding of human rights in aged care contexts and how to uphold these in daily practice	Person-Centred, Rights-Based Care for the Older Person (12m) The Code of Conduct for Aged Care (15m)
Autonomy Support	Practical skills in supporting individual choice and decision-making while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries	Dignity of Risk & Decision-Making in Aged Care (20m)
Dignity of Risk	Training on how to support individuals' right to make choices that others might consider risky, while ensuring appropriate safeguards	Standard 1: The Individual (10m)
Intimacy and Gender Expression	Supporting rights to intimacy and sexual and gender expression in aged care settings	Intimacy and Sexuality in Aged Care (30m)

Area 4: Trauma-Informed Care - The Critical Requirement

This requirement from Action 1.1.2(e) is often underestimated in its scope. Your training must address:

Training Component	Focus Areas	Ausmed Training Modules
Cultural Safety Principles	Understanding the difference between cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural safety, with emphasis on power dynamics and individual determination of safety	Cultural Safety in Healthcare (25m)
Trauma-Informed Care Frameworks	Recognition that many older people have experienced trauma, and understanding how this impacts their care needs and preferences	Culturally Safe, Trauma-Aware and Healing-Informed Care (25m)
Healing-Informed Practices	Active approaches that support recovery and resilience rather than merely avoiding re-traumatisation	Standard 1: The Individual (10m)

Implementing Your Training Program

Now that you understand what training is required, you need to implement it systematically. The key is to differentiate your approach based on roles while ensuring everyone achieves the core competencies.

Role	Training Focus	Key Requirements
Direct Care Workers	Hands-on practical training with emphasis on daily interaction skills and immediate application of person-centred principles	Daily communication techniques, cultural sensitivity, trauma awareness
Care Coordinators and Planners	Advanced training in assessment methodologies, care plan development that reflects individual identity, coordination with families and other services	Assessment skills, care planning, family engagement, service coordination
Management and Leadership	Creating systems that support person-centred care, monitoring implementation, and continuous improvement processes	System design, quality monitoring, continuous improvement leadership

Your competency assessments need to move beyond knowledge testing to practical demonstration. Workers must show they can actually apply what they've learned in real care situations.

Learn more about how Ausmed Competency™ can help your team →

Building Your Evidence Base for Audits

As you implement training, you must simultaneously build evidence that demonstrates its effectiveness. Auditors will look for specific types of evidence:

Evidence Type	Required Documentation	Purpose
Training Records	Detailed attendance logs, competency assessments, individualised training plans based on identified needs	Demonstrate systematic approach to competency development
Practice Observation	Regular monitoring of staff interactions demonstrating person-centred approaches and cultural safety	Show practical application of training
Individual Feedback	Systematic collection of feedback from older people about feeling understood, respected, and culturally safe	Validate training effectiveness from consumer perspective
Care Plan Documentation	Evidence that individual identity, culture, and preferences are documented and actively used to guide the provision of services	Demonstrate person-centred care implementation
Continuous Improvement	Documentation of how training is adapted based on feedback, incidents, and emerging best practices	Show ongoing enhancement of training programs

This means your training program can't exist in isolation. It must feed into and be informed by your broader quality systems, incident management, and consumer feedback processes.

Documentation You Must Maintain

To demonstrate compliance with Outcome 1.1, you need comprehensive documentation that shows:

• Background and cultural identity: Records showing each person's cultural background is documented in assessment and planning processes and used to direct the provision of services
• Communication preferences: Clear documentation of how each individual prefers to communicate and receive information
• Relationship and social connection needs: Evidence of understanding important people in their lives and how to support these connections
• Personalised care approaches: Documentation showing how services are modified based on individual cultural needs, preferences, and life experiences
• Continuous improvement strategies: Records of how you identify and implement improvements to inclusion and diversity approaches
• Partnership development: Evidence of building professional and trusting relationships that enable true partnership in providing services

Remember, Outcome 1.1 isn't just another compliance requirement - it's the foundation that makes all other care meaningful. When you get this training right, everything else becomes easier because your staff truly understand and respond to each person as an individual with their own unique story, culture, and preferences.