As the aged care sector in Australia responds to increasing regulatory expectations and a growing focus on person-centred care, there is a critical need for scalable, evidence-based approaches to evaluating and improving foodservice systems. This presentation explores an innovative digital tool designed by Nutrition Professionals Australia, to support aged care homes in identifying gaps in nutrition care through comprehensive menu and mealtime assessments aligned with the Australian Aged Care Quality Standards. Importantly, data collected allows for benchmarking across homes and organisations, creating a powerful mechanism for identifying sector-wide trends and driving continuous quality improvement.
The tool enables structured, standardised evaluation of menus, dining experiences and nutrition care practices within residential aged care homes. Dietitians assess performance across multiple domains of the standards, generating quantitative scores and qualitative insights. These results are translated into targeted, actionable improvement plans tailored to each facility.
Drawing on a large dataset of assessments, this presentation will highlight the “top ten” areas where aged care providers are demonstrating excellence in nutrition care, alongside the “bottom ten” areas where gaps remain and focused resources are required. Insights will reflect real world practice across diverse organisations, offering a unique, data driven perspective on current performance.
Aligned with the conference theme “Smart Hospitality: Redefining Service in Healthcare”, this session demonstrates how digital innovation can transform traditional audit processes into dynamic, intelligence-driven systems. By enabling benchmarking, transparency and targeted action planning, the tool supports providers to move beyond compliance towards excellence in hospitality and nutrition care.