Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Anchor Excellence is strongly supported by the Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) and maintains active engagement with peak industry bodies to ensure our services reflect the latest sector developments.

Yes we do, we have a strategic partnership with the legal firm Thomson Geer. The Australian College of Nursing provides Anchor Academy with endorsements for our education, and from time to time we partner with organisations that provide services to the sector, for example, Meaningful Ageing Australia, and HARTMANNs, If you are interested in a collaboration please please email info@anchorexcellence.com

Anchor Excellence was founded in September 2018 by Managing Director Cynthia Payne. Over the past seven-plus years, our team of 20+ leaders has worked with more than 40% of the sector, supporting home care services, residential aged care providers, and retirement living operators across Australia.

Our head office is in Sydney:

9/11-13 Brookhollow Avenue, Norwest NSW 2153, Australia

However, we support organisations throughout Australia — both metropolitan and regional — through on-site and remote engagements. For appointments, contact info@anchorexcellence.com.

Anchor Excellence is Australia's leading aged care advisory and consulting firm, supporting home care, residential aged care, retirement living, and child care providers nationwide. Our team of 20+ industry leaders delivers a comprehensive suite of services — including strategic consulting, policy and compliance documentation, accredited education, international study tours, and leadership development. Since 2018, we have partnered with over 130 aged care providers, reaching more than 14,000 aged care leaders across the sector.

We work with boards, executives, managers, and care teams across the full spectrum of Australia's care sector, including:

• Residential aged care providers preparing for the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards
• Home care organisations transitioning to the Support at Home program
• Retirement living operators aligning with ARVAS Standards and the Retirement Living Code of Conduct
• Child care centres navigating legislative change in Early Childhood Education and Care
• NDIS service providers seeking governance and compliance support

Anchor Excellence provides advisory, consulting, and compliance services across four key sectors:

• Residential Aged Care
• Home Care
• Retirement Living
• Child Care

Our services range from strategic consulting and policy suites to education, leadership development, and international study tours.

The best way to begin is to book a no-obligation discovery meeting with one of our specialists. We'll discuss your organisation's needs, recommend the right services or packages, and outline a clear path forward.

Contact us | Phone: (02) 8610 1950 | Email: info@anchorexcellence.com

Yes. Anchor Academy education programs are endorsed by the Australian College of Nursing, and digital credentials are issued via Credly — a globally recognised digital credentialing platform.

Since you have enrolled, you will have 100 days to complete the course material with unlimited attempts. Unfortunately, if you don't complete the material, you will fail the course and need to re-enrol again after 100 days.

If you need an extension for any reason that impacts your study, please let us know at education@anchorexcellence.com.

Upon successful checkout, your account will be automatically registered using the email address you provided. An email with a password reset link will be sent from Anchor Excellence to your inbox. Please check your spam or junk folder if you don't see it. If you need to reset your password at any time, simply click the 'Forgot Password' link on the login page.

Option 1

After logging in to your account, navigate to your Account by clicking on your name in the top-left corner of the webpage. Then, select Courses from the menu to access your content.


Option 2

To access your courses, go to the Anchor Excellence website and click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner. From the menu that slides in, select My Courses.

Option 3

Check your email inbox. The course link is included in your welcome email.

Anchor Academy is our accredited education platform offering industry-leading, nationally recognised training programs for aged care professionals. Whether you are new to the sector or an experienced leader, our courses combine practical expertise with theoretical knowledge to strengthen your capability and compliance.

Some of the Anchor Academy courses are endorsed by the Australian College of Nursing.

Each course includes:

• A one-hour recorded module
• One assessment containing approximately six questions
• A digital certificate badge issued through the Credly platform (within 7 business days of course completion)

Anchor Excellence partnered with SAGE Study Tours in January of 2023

SAGE Study Tours is an internationally recognised quality study tour program that offers aged care and seniors living professionals an educative, professional, and culturally appropriate study experience. For over seventeen years, SAGE Tours has investigated new and emerging trends in eldercare around the world, providing delegates with global perspectives on best-practice care delivery.

Anchor Excellence partnered with SAGE Study Tours in January 2023.

Each tour includes:

• Insight into alternative models of service delivery, including best practice in management, workforce, clinical delivery, community education, and research
• Site visits to leading clinical and educational institutions
• Cross-cultural learning exchanges at industry and personal levels
• Professional networking with well-respected leaders in the global eldercare field

SAGE Tours are designed for boards, executives, managers, and care teams looking to broaden their perspective on eldercare. Whether you're seeking inspiration for service improvement, benchmarking against international models, or building professional networks, SAGE Tours provide a unique learning opportunity.

Learn more at sagetours.com

Our consulting division — Strategy, Governance & CEO Excellence — provides a comprehensive service suite for aged care leaders, including:

• Statutory Conditions & Obligations Reviews aligned with the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025
• Board Training on duties, obligations, SIRS incident management, and whistleblower protocols
• Independent Chairing of Quality Care Advisory Bodies (QCAB) and Consumer Advisory Bodies (CAB)
• Responsible Persons Program (in partnership with Thomson Geer)
• Independent Board Evaluation & Facilitation
• Executive Strategy & Future-Proofing Sessions
• Clinical Governance & High-Impact Risk Education

We also offer Complex Business & Finance Advisory and Third-Line Risk & Assurance services.

Absolutely. Preparing for the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards is a core focus of our consulting practice. We conduct rigorous reviews of your governing body obligations, clinical governance frameworks, and operational compliance to ensure alignment with the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025. Our board training, executive strategy sessions, and policy suites are all designed to make your organisation audit-ready and confident.

Contact us to discuss your compliance needs

Yes. We provide independent board evaluations, bespoke training for governing bodies and responsible persons, and independent chairing of QCABs and CABs. Our Responsible Persons Program, delivered in partnership with Thomson Geer, is specifically designed to enhance the capability of those in responsible person roles under the Aged Care Act 2024.

We support home care providers through consulting engagements, targeted policy documentation, and education. Our Home Care policy suite is designed to meet the new Support at Home requirements, with dedicated manual packages, AECT mapping, and coverage across priority domains including clinical governance, incident management, and workforce. We also offer strategic advisory to help organisations plan for operational changes under the new program.

Explore Home Care services

Anchor Policy is our Policy-as-a-Service offering that provides comprehensive, custom-branded policy and compliance documentation suites for aged care providers. Our suite of over 700 documents — including policies, processes, registers, tools, templates, factsheets, presentations, and competencies — is drafted by industry experts and tailored to your organisation's branding, language, and operational structure.

Anchor Policy provides documentation suites for:

• Residential Aged Care — aligned with the Aged Care Act 2024, Aged Care Rules 2025, and Strengthened Quality Standards
• Human Resources for Aged Care — a specialised workforce compliance package developed in partnership with ResolveHR
• Home Care — designed for the new Support at Home program with AECT mapping
• Retirement Living — spanning 7 packages and 150+ documents, aligned with ARVAS Standards and the Retirement Living Code of Conduct

Several key differentiators set Anchor Policy apart:

• Custom branding — your logo, colours, job titles, and system names are populated throughout the entire suite
• Expert-drafted — developed by clinical and compliance experts with deep sector experience
• System agnostic — documents are provided in editable format; host them wherever you want
• End-to-end implementation support — we don't just deliver documents, we help embed them
• Quarterly updates (Policy Plus) — legislative changes are reflected in your documents so they stay current
• Alignment to Aged Care Quality Standards — every document maps to current regulatory requirements

We offer three flexible packages:

• Policy Choice — select individual documents to fill gaps in your existing library. Best for organisations that need targeted compliance coverage.
• Policy Purchase — a comprehensive full-suite package. Best for new providers or those undertaking a total policy refresh.
• Policy Plus (Most Popular) — a premium subscription that includes the full suite plus quarterly legislative updates, webinars, and ongoing support. Best for long-term compliance security.

Our estimated turnaround is 3–6 weeks from the completion of your alignment form. The process follows seven clear steps:

1. Discovery & Proposal — we tailor a package to your needs
2. Alignment — you complete the role alignment and style guide form
3. Customisation — we brand and configure your documents
4. Handover — delivered via SharePoint
5. Implementation — for Policy Plus and Purchase clients, we support embedding
6. Ongoing Support — for Policy Plus, quarterly updates and webinars
7. Legislative Updates — documents updated as legislation changes

Yes. Anchor Policy documents are system agnostic and delivered in editable format. You can upload them into any document management system your organisation uses — whether that's SharePoint, a cloud-based QMS, or another platform.

Yes. All Anchor Policy documents are drafted and maintained in alignment with the Aged Care Act 2024, Aged Care Rules 2025, and the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. For Policy Plus subscribers, documents are updated quarterly to reflect any legislative or regulatory changes.

Impactful Leaders is a tailored workshop series designed to help aged care organisations build high-performance leadership. Grounded in evidence and contemporary practices, the program focuses on strengthening team alignment, cohesion, communication, and collaboration — essential qualities for navigating the dynamic changes in the aged care sector.

The program uses the Team Management Systems (TMS) framework to help leaders:

• Uncover individual and team work preferences
• Strengthen interpersonal communication
• Boost collaboration and team performance
• Build sustainable organisational capability

Learn more about Impactful Leaders

Yes. Anchor ChildCare supports Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres across Australia. We understand the unprecedented legislative change in the sector and the mandated compliance requirements that centres must evidence at every level of operations.

Our child care division provides specialist support across:

• Governance, risk, and assurance
• Complex financial and business advisory
• Leadership and mentoring
• End-to-end compliance support

We help centres not just meet compliance but elevate performance to deliver high-quality education and care.

Learn more about Anchor ChildCare