Aged Care Audits: Building Surveyors

HENDRY building surveyors aged care audits are conducted to the certification instrument set down by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Aged Care Audits give the Aged Care service provider an understanding of their status prior to being formerly assessed.

Aged care audits reveal that aged care buildings generally fall into Class 3 (Aged Care Hostel) or Class 9a (Nursing Home) classes within the Building Code of Australia (BCA).

Aged Care Act 1997 The introduction of Class 9c buildings in the BCA in 2002 provided building owners, Aged Care service providers, building surveyors and designers with some certainty regarding the Commonwealth's "Ageing in place" requirements, aged care audits will take this into account.

Aged Care Audits will reveal that Class 9c buildings are 'aged care buildings', which are defined by the BCA as being a 'building for residential accommodation of aged persons', who generally require personalised care. Residents of Class 9c buildings generally have varying degrees of incapacity and as a result, 24 hour personal care services provided by staff to assist residents in an emergency evacuation, and aged care audits must allow for these provisions.

Aged Care Audits will show that Class 3 Hostel building fire systems, as defined under the BCA, were not designed for residents undergoing medical treatment who need assistance to evacuate, and since some owners or Aged Care service providers have progressively changed the use of their buildings from Low Care Hostel (Class 3) to High Care Nursing Home (Class 9a) without changing or reviewing the level of fire safety systems within their facility, some Aged Care service providers are in breach of the BCA. HENDRY building surveyors aged care audits will advise proprietors of the situation and the necessary outcomes to achieve compliance.

HENDRY building surveyors aged care audits can identify the issues and benefits for the conversion of an existing facility from a Class 3 use to a Class 9c use. Our Aged Care Audits will ensure that building owners and service providers meet community expectations regarding compliance and safety requirements. HENDRY building surveyor aged care audits are provided in the strictest confidence.