Physiotherapy in Aged Care: What Families Should Know About AN-ACC
Understanding the AN-ACC Funding Model and What It Means for Your Family
If your parent or family member lives in a residential aged care facility, you've probably heard the term AN-ACC mentioned by staff — but you might not be entirely sure what it means or how it affects the care your loved one receives.
AN-ACC stands for the Australian National Aged Care Classification. It's the funding model that determines how much government funding a residential aged care facility receives for each resident. It replaced the old ACFI system and has been fully in place since October 2022.
Here's what matters for families.
How AN-ACC Affects Physiotherapy
Under the old funding model, physiotherapy in aged care was often delivered as a routine service — regular check-ins, maintenance exercises, and pain management. That's still important, but AN-ACC has shifted the emphasis.
AN-ACC assessors now look more closely at the quality of clinical care being delivered. They want to see evidence that allied health programs are goal-oriented, outcomes-focused, and tailored to individual residents — not just generic group exercises ticked off a schedule.
This means the best aged care facilities now offer what's called a reablement approach to physiotherapy. Rather than simply maintaining a resident's current level of function, reablement physiotherapy actively works to help residents regain skills and independence.
What Should Good Aged Care Physiotherapy Look Like?
As a family member, there are a few things you can look for (or ask about) when it comes to physiotherapy at your loved one's facility.
Individual goals. Does your family member have specific physiotherapy goals that have been discussed with them (and ideally with you)? These should be practical and meaningful — like being able to walk to the dining room, get out of a chair safely, or reduce pain enough to enjoy activities.
Regular sessions. How often is the physiotherapist actually seeing your family member? Is it consistent, or does it depend on which locum happens to be available that week?
Progress updates. Is the facility or the physiotherapy provider giving you any information about how your family member is progressing? Good providers track outcomes and can tell you whether goals are being met.
Consistency of staff. Does the same physiotherapist see your family member regularly, or is it a different person each time? Consistency matters — the therapist needs to know the resident, their history, their personality, and what motivates them.
A proactive approach. Is the physiotherapist just responding to problems (like pain or falls), or are they actively working to prevent them and improve function?
What You Can Do as a Family Member
You don't need to be a health professional to be involved in your loved one's care. A few practical things that help:
Ask the facility who their physiotherapy provider is and whether the program is reablement-focused. Ask to be included in goal-setting conversations. Request progress updates — even a brief quarterly summary helps you understand what's happening.
If your family member has had a fall or a period of decline, ask whether a reablement assessment has been done to see if function can be restored rather than just managed.
And if you're not satisfied with the answers, it's worth raising it. Facilities want to provide good care, and family feedback is one of the strongest drivers for improvement.
How Optimum Delivers Aged Care Physiotherapy
At Optimum Allied Health, we provide physiotherapy and allied health services to over 50 aged care facilities from Sydney to Brisbane. Our approach is built around reablement principles, consistent staffing, and clear communication with facility teams and families.
We provide weekly and quarterly reporting on resident progress, and our physiotherapists are trained in AN-ACC requirements so your loved one's facility has the clinical evidence it needs.
If you'd like to know more about the physiotherapy services at your family member's facility, or if you're a facility manager looking to strengthen your allied health program, get in touch.
