Aged Care Standard 6: the food safety records behind it
What outcome 6.3 expects of your kitchen, and the evidence that shows it every day.
Standard 6 (Food and nutrition) applies to residential aged care from 1 November 2025. Its food safety expectations sit mainly in outcome 6.3, Provision of food and drink: meals prepared and served safely and at the correct temperature, a written food safety program, and monitoring that the program is followed. The evidence is your kitchen records, from receiving to the dining room.
The four outcomes
| Outcome | What it covers | Kitchen’s part |
|---|---|---|
| 6.1 Partnering with older people on food and nutrition | Choice, preferences, risks with eating and drinking | Know each resident’s diet, texture and allergies |
| 6.2 Assessment of nutritional needs and preferences | Clinical assessment and review | Receive and act on diet changes promptly |
| 6.3 Provision of food and drink | Menus, safe preparation, temperature, food safety program | Most of the food safety work |
| 6.4 Dining experience | Environment, support, staffing and skills | Meals served safely and at the right temperature |
Outcome names from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s Standard 6 guidance. This article covers food safety only; see the Commission for nutrition and clinical guidance.
What outcome 6.3 expects of the kitchen
A written food safety program
How food safety hazards are managed, such as storing and serving food at the correct temperatures. The same program that Standard 3.3.1 requires to be audited.
Safe preparation and service
Processes for preparing and handling food safely, and meals served at the correct temperature and in an appealing way.
Menus with a dietitian
Menus, including texture-modified menus, developed with chefs and an Accredited Practising Dietitian, and reviewed at least once a year.
Monitoring
Checking that staff follow the food safety program and related procedures, and acting when they don’t.
The records that show it
| Expectation | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Food stored and served at correct temperatures | Fridge, coolroom, hot holding and point-of-service temperature records |
| Food prepared safely | Cooking, cooling and reheating records; cleaning sign-offs |
| Residents’ diets and textures followed | Diet lists from clinical staff, checked against meals; texture test records |
| Food safety program followed | Completed daily checks, corrective actions, internal audits |
| Menus reviewed | Dated menu reviews with the dietitian, at least yearly |
| Skilled staff | Training records, food safety supervisor certificate |
Where records usually break down
- Between kitchen and resident. Food leaves the kitchen at the right temperature, but nobody records it at the dining room or bedside.
- Diet changes. A resident’s texture or allergy changes in the clinical system but not on the kitchen’s list.
- Weekends and agency staff. Checks done by people who don’t know where the records go.
- Corrective actions. A failed check is noted, but what was done about it isn’t.
One record, from receiving to the dining room
EthicalHub records temperatures at every step, including point of service, checks meals against resident diets and allergens, and tracks cleaning, training and supplier certificates. When a check fails, a corrective action opens. The same records support your Standard 6 evidence and your food safety program audit.
See it with your home’s checks
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Standard 6 food safety: common questions
What is Aged Care Quality Standard 6?
Does Standard 6 require a food safety program?
What evidence shows food is served safely?
Who checks Standard 6?
Safe, recorded, every meal.
The kitchen evidence behind Standard 6, kept as you go.