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Standard 7 of 7 · 10 minResidential aged care specific

Standard 7: The residential community

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What this standard is about

Standard 7 is specific to residential aged care. It's about the service being genuinely the person's home: their sense of belonging, meaningful daily life, and connection to community, culture and the people who matter to them.

Key ideas

  • Safety and belonging go together: a resident should feel both secure and truly at home.
  • Quality of life is as important as physical care.
  • Meaningful daily activities reflect who the person is, not a generic timetable.
  • Relationships and community connection matter, inside and outside the service.
  • Cultural, spiritual and social participation should be genuinely supported.
  • Supporting independence, even within a shared residential setting.
  • Respecting the residential service as the person's home, not just a facility.
  • Helping people use their own strengths and interests.
  • Supporting visitors, personal interests and familiar routines.

Practical workplace examples

  • Asking a resident what they'd genuinely like to do today, rather than only offering the scheduled group activity.
  • Making space for a resident's visitor to feel welcome, not like an interruption.
  • Helping someone stay connected to a hobby, faith community or interest they had before moving in.
  • Treating a resident's room as their personal space, knocking and waiting before entering.

Video

Video coming soon

A short explainer on what 'home' means in a residential setting, and how everyday moments support belonging.

Transcript

This video is in production. Read the script below instead — it will become the video's caption and transcript once the video is added.

Standard 7 applies specifically to residential aged care. It asks providers to treat the service as the resident's home, not simply a facility where care happens.

Belonging comes from small, everyday things: being asked what you'd like to do, having your interests and relationships supported, and being treated as part of a community rather than a task on a roster.

This standard sits alongside the others, not instead of them. Current official guidance sets out exactly what applies to different types of residential providers, so it's worth checking that guidance directly.

Scenario

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Try it in practice

Ask one resident about an interest, community or hobby from before they moved in, and see whether there's a small way to help reconnect with it.

Reflect

This goes into your downloadable action plan. It is private to you and is not marked.

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Official references

This course is written by CareCareer for general education. It is not provided by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission or the Australian Government — go to the sources below for the official standards, which can change.

Source and review

Source
Australian Government and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission resources
Last reviewed
22 September 2026
Review frequency
At least quarterly

The review date is a provider-configurable field (SOURCE_AND_REVIEW.lastReviewedin the course content) — CareCareer's Academy team updates it whenever the standards are reviewed against the official sources above.

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