Falls are the most common serious adverse event in aged care. Around 30 to 50 per cent of people living in residential aged care fall each year, and roughly 40 per cent of those who fall have more than one fall.
The injury is only part of it. A fall that causes no fracture at all can still end a person's independence, because fear of falling leads to reduced activity, which leads to weakness, which leads to more falls.
How this module works Read the content straight through. It takes most people around an hour. Then complete the quiz at the end. You need 80% to pass, and your certificate appears on screen immediately. The quiz is open book, there is no time limit, and you can reattempt as many times as you need.
Currency statement and scope This module reflects the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards in force from 1 November 2025 and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care's guidelines on preventing falls and harm from falls in older people.
Your service's falls policy, post-fall protocol and any individual falls plan are the operational authority. Nothing here authorises a worker to act beyond their role, in particular, decisions about moving an injured person, clinical assessment and imaging are not support worker decisions.