Beyond Compliance: Strengthening the Impact of IPC Leads in Aged Care

Ellie Golling and Luci Rodda

Introduction

Our previous blog, Strengthening Infection Prevention and Control Leadership in Australian Aged Care: A Call to Action, highlighted a growing concern—IPC Leads in aged care risk being reduced to a performative role, a mere compliance measure rather than a driving force for meaningful infection prevention and control (IPC) improvements.

The response to that blog was clear: IPC Leads, aged care staff, and sector stakeholders know that more needs to be done. But the question remains—how do we move from recognising the problem to implementing solutions that truly empower IPC Leads and improve resident safety?

This follow-up explores actionable strategies that go beyond compliance, ensuring IPC Leads have the knowledge, authority, and support to make a real impact while also addressing systemic barriers that limit their effectiveness.

Embedding IPC Leadership in Organisational Governance

For IPC Leads to be effective, their role cannot exist in isolation. Aged care facilities must embed IPC leadership within broader governance structures, ensuring that infection prevention is treated as a core function of quality and safety, not just an accreditation requirement.

What’s Needed?

🔹 Executive-level accountability – IPC Leads need strong, visible support from senior management and board-level oversight to ensure infection prevention is prioritised.

🔹 Formalised reporting pathways – IPC Leads should have structured, routine engagement with leadership teams to drive evidence-based decision-making.

🔹 Aged Care Quality Standards alignment – IPC should not be a separate function but fully integrated into governance frameworks, risk management strategies, and clinical governance structures.

Addressing Workforce Challenges and IPC Capacity

One of the biggest barriers to effective IPC leadership is workload pressure. Many IPC Leads juggle multiple responsibilities, often managing IPC tasks alongside their clinical workload without dedicated time, resources, or additional staff support.

What’s Needed?

🔹 Dedicated IPC FTE allocation – Facilities should assess IPC risks and allocate time accordingly, ensuring IPC Leads can focus on infection prevention without compromising clinical care.

🔹 IPC Committees & Champions – A team-based approach to IPC, where frontline staff across different departments share responsibility and actively contribute to infection prevention initiatives.

🔹 Sustainable workforce planning – Addressing staffing shortages and turnover through strategies such as structured IPC career pathways, upskilling existing staff, and creating mentorship programs.

Strengthening IPC Lead Training & Competency Standards

While regulatory requirements mandate IPC Leads in aged care, there is no nationally standardised competency framework to define their core skills, knowledge, or development pathways. This inconsistency limits effectiveness and creates gaps in infection prevention efforts.

What’s Needed?

🔹 Nationally recognised IPC Lead competency frameworks – Clear, standardised training expectations and role-specific skill development.

🔹 Structured mentorship programs – Access to experienced IPC professionals for guidance and real-world application of IPC principles.

🔹 Data literacy & outbreak management training – IPC Leads need practical skills in surveillance, root cause analysis, and performance monitoring to implement data-driven interventions.

Why It Matters: Facilities with well-trained IPC Leads experience fewer outbreaks, reduced antimicrobial resistance, and improved resident safety. Without structured training, many IPC Leads are left to navigate complex infection prevention challenges with minimal support.

Integrating IPC into Accreditation & Regulatory Frameworks

Accreditation and compliance should not be barriers to effective IPC leadership—they should support and reinforce best practices. However, many facilities still view IPC through a tick-box compliance lens, missing opportunities to integrate it meaningfully into quality and risk management.

What’s Needed?

🔹 Stronger national consistency in IPC Lead expectations – Regulations should go beyond simply mandating an IPC Lead and focus on ensuring they are trained, supported, and embedded into facility governance.

🔹 Clearer links between IPC and accreditation – Aged Care Quality Standards and infection control policies should align with practical IPC implementation and avoid duplication.

🔹 Advocacy for policy change – The sector must push for funding, workforce development, and clearer regulatory guidance to support IPC Leads in fulfilling their role.

Call to Action: Facilities must regularly audit their IPC programs, assessing whether their IPC Lead is truly empowered to drive change or simply filling a compliance requirement.

Sector-Wide Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing

IPC Leads often work in isolation, without access to peer networks or sector-wide collaboration opportunities. The more facilities share knowledge, successes, and challenges, the stronger infection prevention efforts will be across aged care.

What’s Needed?

🔹 State and national IPC networks – Platforms for IPC Leads to connect, share insights, and learn from one another. For example, ACIPC has a fantastic Aged Care IPC Community of Practice as well as their recent mentorship program.

🔹 Sector-wide benchmarking – Facilities should have access to comparative IPC performance data to track progress and identify areas for improvement.

🔹 Technology-enabled knowledge sharing – Digital platforms, forums, and webinars to facilitate real-time exchange of best practices and lessons learned.

Why It Matters: Collaboration reduces the risk of repeating mistakes, accelerates sector-wide learning, and enhances overall IPC effectiveness.

Supporting the Mental Health & Well-being of IPC Leads

The psychosocial burden of being an IPC Lead is often underestimated. Many report feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and unsupported, especially during outbreaks or major infection control challenges. Burnout is a real concern.

What’s Needed?

🔹 Recognition of emotional toll – Acknowledging that IPC Leads carry significant responsibility and often work under high-pressure conditions.

🔹 Peer support networks & professional development – Creating structured spaces for IPC Leads to debrief, access mental health resources, and receive ongoing education.

🔹 Leadership support & workload balance – Facilities must actively prevent burnout by ensuring IPC Leads have manageable workloads and access to wellbeing initiatives.

Key Takeaway: IPC Leads who feel supported are more engaged, more effective, and more likely to stay in the role long-term.

The Time for Action is Now

The role of IPC Leads must evolve beyond a compliance-driven function to a position of true leadership in infection prevention. This requires structural change, sector-wide commitment, and investment in IPC as a priority—not an afterthought.

If we want to see meaningful progress, we must advocate for:

✅ Clear competency frameworks and structured career pathways for IPC Leads

✅ Sustainable workforce planning that supports IPC Leads with time and resources

✅ Governance structures that embed IPC into executive decision-making

✅ A sector-wide shift from tick-box compliance to evidence-based IPC practice

✅ Mental health and well-being support for IPC professionals

Aged care IPC is at a crossroads—do we allow the role of IPC Leads to remain underutilised, or do we take decisive action to empower them as leaders in infection prevention? The answer must be clear.

Let’s build a stronger, smarter, and more effective IPC workforce—because our residents deserve nothing less.