Aged care homes must plan for emergencies, but the useful question for a family is not “Do you have a plan?” It is whether the plan fits that building, its residents and its local risks. Bushfire, flood, cyclone, heatwave, outbreak and long power failure create different problems. A person who needs oxygen, a hoist, thickened fluids or dementia supervision cannot be evacuated like an office worker.
Use the broader aged care home comparison guide, review heat and backup-power questions, and compare locations in the aged care home directory.
Start with the site’s real hazard map
Ask which hazards the home’s risk assessment identifies: bushfire zone, flood access, cyclone, extreme heat, smoke, infectious outbreak, water loss, telecommunications failure or road closure. The plan should reflect local emergency services, building construction, resident dependency and supply routes.
Look up the address on the relevant state or territory hazard information before the visit, then ask how the provider’s assessment differs. Note whether the offered room is upstairs, near an exit, exposed to afternoon heat or dependent on a lift. The plan should cover the actual unit, not only the property boundary.
Check whether one road, bridge or low-lying access point can isolate the site. Ask what happened in the last local emergency and what was changed afterward. A generic corporate manual does not answer a location-specific risk.
Ask who decides to shelter or evacuate
Find out who monitors warnings, who has authority to act and when the provider contacts emergency services. Ask where residents go if evacuation is required, whether agreements with receiving homes and transport providers are current, and how the destination is chosen when several services are affected.
For a secure dementia unit, ask how doors, identification and supervision work during transfer. For a person receiving end-of-life care, ask how goals and clinical needs are respected if relocation becomes necessary.
Test transport against resident dependency
Ambulances may not be available to move a whole home during a regional disaster. Ask how the provider transports residents who need wheelchairs, hoists, stretchers, oxygen or constant supervision. How many accessible vehicles are contracted? How long would a full evacuation take? When was that assumption tested?
The personal care plan should identify extra emergency support. Bring equipment dimensions, oxygen requirements, communication needs and distress triggers to admission. Confirm that emergency labels and grab packs protect privacy while keeping essential information usable.
Check power, water and medication continuity
Ask which circuits the generator supports, how long fuel lasts and whether cooling, lifts, nurse call, medication refrigeration, kitchen, oxygen equipment and electronic records remain available. “Backup power” may cover emergency lighting but not room cooling or every clinical device.
Ask when the generator was last load-tested and what failed during the test. Identify manual alternatives for electric doors, pressure mattresses, charging communication devices and transferring residents when lifts stop. For heat, ask which spaces remain cooled, how room temperatures are monitored and how high-risk residents are moved or hydrated.
Ask about water storage, food, continence supplies, pharmacy deliveries and manual medication records. For insulin, refrigerated medicines or enteral feeds, request the specific contingency. Check how staff access care plans if internet and phone systems fail.
Examine the workforce plan
Emergencies can prevent workers from reaching the home while residents need more help. Ask how the home covers absences, where off-duty staff come from and whether managers and agency staff are trained on the site plan. Confirm who stays with residents relocated elsewhere.
Ask about the most recent drill: scenario, participants, problems found and correction. The strengthened standards expect plans to be tested and reviewed with residents, supporters, workers and response partners, not stored untouched.
Ask whether the drill included a night or weekend staffing scenario, not only a weekday desktop exercise. Review how agency staff, contractors and volunteers receive instructions. A plan that works with the full management team onsite may fail when roads close at 2 a.m. and the senior nurse is coordinating several units.
Request the month of the next scheduled exercise and how residents and supporters can contribute observations afterward.
Set the family communication plan
Give the home at least two current contacts and ask how updates are sent when phone networks are overloaded. Will it use SMS, email, recorded line or online notices? Who tells families the destination after evacuation? How are people contacted if the resident’s supporter is also affected by the disaster?
Ask for the family information sheet now, not during a warning. It should say where official updates appear, what families should bring or avoid, and how changes to contact details are recorded. For supporters who do not use digital messages or need an interpreter, agree an accessible method and test it at admission.
Finally, ask how the provider reunites medication, records, belongings and billing after residents return. Recovery can last longer than evacuation. A strong plan includes clinical reassessment, debriefing, psychological support, maintenance checks and communication about what changed before the home resumes normal routines.
Agree that family should not drive into a danger zone unless instructed. Ask where reunification occurs and what identification is required. Put language, hearing and communication needs into the contact plan.
FAQ: Must every aged care home have an emergency plan?
Yes. Providers must maintain emergency and disaster management planning and continue safe, quality care during emergencies. The plan should address local risks, resident needs, workforce, infrastructure and communication, and it should be tested and reviewed.
FAQ: Does the government evacuate residents?
Emergency services respond to immediate danger, but the provider remains responsible for its emergency planning, including transport and continuity arrangements. Families should ask what contracted resources exist if public ambulances are delayed or unavailable.
FAQ: Will fees stop during temporary relocation?
Not necessarily. Public guidance allows provider subsidies and resident fees to continue during an emergency relocation, with financial arrangements between providers handled separately. Ask the home how it invoices and communicates temporary relocation costs.
Local hazards, drill history, evacuation capacity, vacancy and clinical admission must be confirmed directly with the home; current emergency obligations and public decisions should be checked with responsible authorities.