The aged care sector is at a tipping point. With the Support at Home Program on the horizon, increased regulatory scrutiny, and an overstretched workforce, providers are under pressure to deliver higher quality care with tighter resources.
While technology is often touted as the solution, it can also introduce complexity, risk, and ethical concerns, especially when it comes to AI.
The upcoming Aged Care Act, taking effect on 1 July 2025, brings a sharper focus on rights-based care, supported decision-making, and provider accountability. To meet these new standards, tech adoption must be intentional, ethical, and designed for the realities of aged
care.
If we want reform to succeed, we need to be smarter and not just faster. And that means choosing tools that genuinely enhance care without compromising the dignity, safety, or autonomy of the people we support.
Start with the Real Pain Points: Documentation and Duplication
In aged care, one of the biggest drains on time and morale is documentation. Staff often spend hours each week writing up notes, updating care plans, and meeting compliance requirements. This comes at the expense of time that could be spent delivering proactive, wellness-focused, and reablement-oriented care. This administrative load not only contributes to workforce burnout but also limits opportunities for truly person-centred proactive support.
Improving productivity means focusing on:
- Speech-to-text tools for progress notes and assessments
- Smart documentation frameworks that capture risk, goals, and outcomes in real time
- Automated admin workflows that reduce repetitive tasks and ensure follow-up But tools that aren’t designed for aged care often fall short — or worse, introduce ethical and compliance risks.
Beware the Ethical Traps of Mainstream AI
Aged care providers are increasingly turning to AI-based transcription and documentation tools. However, many of these platforms record and store client voices on international servers, often without clear consent or transparent data handling policies.
This is a major concern under the new Aged Care Act, which enshrines supported decision-making as a core principle and introduces a formal Statement of Rights. Recording a person, especially someone with cognitive decline or a history of trauma, without informed consent could not only undermine trust but also breach compliance obligations.
With the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission gaining expanded enforcement powers, tools that mishandle data are not just risky, they’re a liability.
Providers should be asking:
- Does this tool record or store client voices?
- Where is the data stored, and is it protected under Australian law?
- Does it support person-centred, trauma-informed care?
Support Human Judgement with Ethical, Purpose-Built Tech
The best use of AI in aged care is not to replace staff but to support them. Tools should act as co-pilots, streamlining admin tasks while keeping staff in control of what’s recorded, how it’s interpreted, and what’s shared.
That’s why we built Notebuddy.
Unlike many other transcription tools that record and store client conversations, Notebuddy ensures that no client voices are recorded. Instead, staff can use shorthand case notes, short voice recordings after visits, or even photos of handwritten notes. This approach offers flexibility while maintaining privacy and dignity.
Notebuddy allows staff to stay present with clients, reduces after-hours note-taking, and upholds ethical care standards, all while improving productivity. It fits seamlessly into existing workflows, eliminating the need for staff to learn a new system. Designed to adapt to the way your team already works, Notebuddy ensures continuity and consistency in care while upholding the high standards required by the 2025 reforms.
Embed Ethical Tech into Your Reform Roadmap
With major changes coming through the Support at Home Program and the new Aged Care Act, now is the time to audit your digital tools and processes:
- Are your current systems supporting staff or draining them?
- Which tasks can be safely and ethically automated?
- Are you confident your tech choices align with your obligations under the new
standards?
Notebuddy isn’t adding more time to an already overloaded schedule. We do the work for you, collaborating with you to build templates that are truly fit for purpose. It’s so easy to use that even the most technologically challenged case managers can use it effortlessly.
Reach out today to find out more.