Residential Aged Care Communiqué Volume 21 Issue 1 February 2026

Download PDF: RAC Communiqué February 2026

In this edition

• Editorial

• Case #1: A long way from home

• Case #2: Falling short

• List of Resources

Welcome to the first edition of the Residential Aged Care Communiqué for 2026 containing two cases where the nature and level of supervision provided for the residents was called into question when staff were respecting autonomy for persons living with dementia. One resident had a fall sustain head injuries, the other had an unexplained absence and the cause of death was not ascertained.

In both cases, the staff were aware that the residents had experienced similar incidents with an ongoing risk of harm. While the aged care facilities sought to respect the residents’ autonomy more could have been done to mitigate the factors contributing to death.