Lifestyle and Recreational Activities Policy
A lifestyle and recreational activities policy sets out how a residential aged care provider plans, delivers, and reviews activities that support residents' wellbeing, identity, and social participation. It applies to lifestyle coordinators, care staff, volunteers, and management across all residential aged care services. Any provider operating under the Aged Care Act 1997 and transitioning to the new strengthened standards needs this policy in place.
What This Policy Covers
The policy addresses the full lifecycle of activity planning and delivery. It covers how providers assess individual interests and preferences, design group and one-on-one activities, involve residents in program decisions, and measure outcomes over time.
It also covers the involvement of families and carers, access to community and cultural activities, and arrangements for residents who may have limited mobility or cognitive change. Providers that already have a strong Consumer Rights, Dignity and Choice Policy will find this policy builds directly on those foundations.
Why This Policy Matters for Compliance
The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards place a clear obligation on providers to support residents' identity, wellbeing, and participation in everyday life. Two standards are directly relevant.
Standard 1 (The Person) requires providers to know each resident as an individual, respect their goals and preferences, and support their right to make decisions about their daily life. An activities program that is generic or not tailored to individual needs will not satisfy this standard.
Standard 7 (Residential Community) specifically addresses the residential environment and the expectation that residents can maintain relationships, pursue interests, and engage with the broader community. The standard makes clear that a good residential community is one where residents feel they belong and have a life, not just a place to live.
Providers that lack a documented policy risk adverse findings during assessments. A written, up-to-date policy demonstrates intent, but it also needs to be reflected in day-to-day practice, staff training, and resident feedback processes.
Key Requirements at a Glance
RequirementRelevant StandardWhat Providers Must ShowIndividual preference assessmentStandard 1 (The Person)Documented interests, hobbies, cultural background, and lifestyle goals for each residentTailored activity planningStandard 1 (The Person)Programs designed around individual goals, not just group schedulesCommunity connection and social participationStandard 7 (Residential Community)Access to external activities, visitors, and community eventsResident and family involvementStandard 7 (Residential Community)Residents contribute to program design; feedback is sought and acted onMonitoring and outcomes reviewStandards 1 and 7Regular review of participation rates, resident satisfaction, and program effectiveness
What a Good Policy Should Include
A policy that will hold up under audit scrutiny needs more than a statement of intent. It should include a clear purpose and scope, defined roles for the lifestyle team and care staff, a procedure for initial and ongoing preference assessments, and a process for adjusting activities as residents' needs change.
It should also address how the organisation responds to residents who are at risk of isolation or withdrawal. Connecting this policy to your Social Connectedness and Isolation Prevention Policy creates a more complete picture of how the provider supports social and emotional wellbeing.
Finally, the policy should describe how participation data is collected, how the program is reviewed, and how findings feed back into planning. This closes the loop between policy intent and measurable practice.
How Governa Helps Providers Stay on Track
Governa's compliance platform includes the Norma bot, which can answer staff questions about aged care standards in real time, flag policy gaps, and guide teams through what each standard requires in practice. Rather than leaving staff to interpret legislation on their own, Norma gives clear, context-aware guidance at the point of need.
The Governa policy template library now includes more than 35 ready-to-use policy documents, each aligned to the strengthened standards. You can browse the full Policy Templates Library to find templates relevant to your service type and compliance priorities.
Download the Free Template
The Lifestyle and Recreational Activities Policy template below is free to download and customise for your facility. It follows the format expected during aged care quality assessments and covers all the key elements described above.
If you want to see how Governa can help your team manage compliance across your full policy suite, book a demo at governa.ai. Our team works with residential aged care providers of all sizes across Australia.
