Reporting guide
24/7 RN Coverage Reporting for Residential Aged Care
Registered residential aged care providers report RN coverage for every approved home each calendar month. A reliable process must identify coverage gaps, preserve the underlying timeline, and keep coverage separate from the calculation of RN care minutes.
01
The monthly reporting requirement
Report separately for each approved residential care home.
By 11:59 pm AEST under current department guidance.
Manual entry and business-to-government submission options are available.
Every registered provider must report, including a provider whose home has an exemption from the 24/7 RN requirement. The reporting obligation is therefore broader than simply recording whether a home believes it met the requirement.
02
What to report when an RN was not onsite and on duty
Current department guidance requires each period of 30 minutes or more without an RN onsite and on duty to be reported. Periods shorter than 30 minutes are not reported as a gap.
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Start and end of each absence | Establishes the duration and affected calendar day. |
| Planned or unplanned | Explains whether the gap was anticipated. |
| Delegated nursing responsibility | Records who held responsibility while an RN was absent. |
| On-call support and clinical-record access | Documents support available during the absence. |
| Resident transfer option | Required information when the home had one or more reportable absences. |
| Recruitment processes | Required information when the home had one or more reportable absences. |
The department’s Excel RN coverage tool can help providers calculate coverage, but the department states that it is not an approved reporting form and is not mandatory.
03
RN coverage is not the same measure as RN care minutes
Was an RN onsite and on duty throughout the period?
How many eligible RN worked minutes were delivered per occupied bed day?
Continuous clock coverage
Eligible worked hours divided by occupied bed days
Monthly RN coverage report
Quarterly labour-hours and care-minute reporting
Small gaps hidden by a monthly percentage
Ineligible or non-worked hours included in the numerator
A home can meet an RN care-minute target and still have a reportable coverage gap. It can also maintain continuous RN coverage while falling short of its RN care-minute target. Both views need their own source records and review controls.
04
Records to retain behind the monthly percentage
- Planned RN roster
The expected coverage by date, start time, end time, and person.
- Actual attendance
Worked-time, leave, replacement, call-out, and agency records used to establish what occurred.
- Coverage-gap register
Exact gap duration, planned or unplanned status, and affected home.
- Response record
Delegation, on-call arrangements, access to clinical records, transfers, recruitment, and corrective action.
- Review and submission record
Calculation method, reviewer, approval, submitted value, submission date, and later corrections.
05
A practical monthly workflow
- 01Bring planned and actual records together
Use the latest roster, attendance, leave, agency, and replacement information.
- 02Construct the coverage timeline
Resolve overlaps, missing end times, cross-midnight shifts, and duplicated records.
- 03Investigate every break in continuity
Confirm whether the apparent break is a real absence or a data-quality issue.
- 04Document reportable absences
Record each gap of 30 minutes or more and the required contextual information.
- 05Review, approve, and submit
Retain the reviewed calculation and use GPMS or the available business-to-government channel.
06
How CareMin supports RN coverage monitoring
CareMin presents a daily coverage timeline and monthly summary alongside care-minute performance. Teams can investigate apparent gaps using the underlying source record, keep the coverage calculation separate from care-minute calculations, and export a reviewable summary.
CareMin supports preparation and monitoring; providers still submit required RN information through the government reporting channel.
Sources
Primary sources used for this page
- 24/7 registered nurse reportingMonthly reporting scope, absence information and due date
- 24/7 registered nurse requirementRequirement, exemptions and provider responsibilities
- Care Minutes Performance StatementAnnual statement requirement for monthly RN coverage percentages
- Aged Care Rules 2025Current legislative text
Source links and page content were checked on 11 August 2026. Government guidance can change; follow the linked source for the current position.
Review CareMin against your current process.
See how source records, calculations, monitoring, and evidence remain connected.