Robotic pets and the Quality Standards
Where robotic companion pets fit under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, restrictive practice rules and behaviour support plans in Australia.
The Aged Care Act 2024 and the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards commenced on 1 November 2025. Nothing in the Standards requires a robotic pet. They do ask providers to show person-centred dementia care, meaningful activity and a documented effort to avoid restrictive practices, and a well-run robotic pet program can form part of that evidence.
Outcome 5.6: cognitive impairment
Outcome 5.6 asks providers to deliver person-centred care for older people living with dementia, delirium and other cognitive impairment, and to respond to changes. A robotic pet chosen for a particular resident, with notes on how they respond, is an example of an individual strategy.
Standard 7: the residential community
Standard 7 covers daily living and meaningful activity. Robotic pets are used in lifestyle programs for one-to-one sessions, small groups and quiet times such as late afternoon when some residents become unsettled.
Restrictive practices are a last resort
Restrictive practices, including chemical restraint, may only be used as a last resort after alternative strategies have been tried and documented in the resident’s behaviour support plan. Non-drug strategies therefore need to be real, tried and recorded. A simulated pet is one option a care team can list, alongside music, reminiscence, walking and changes to the environment.
Making it count in the care plan
- Name the pet and the resident in the behaviour support plan as a specific strategy.
- Record when it is offered, how long it is used and what happens.
- Review after a few weeks with the resident’s family.
- Stop using it if the person becomes distressed or confused by it.
Dementia Support Australia offers free advice to residential care staff on behaviour support, including when a simulated pet may help.
This page is general information, not compliance advice. Your quality and clinical governance teams decide what evidence your home needs.
Related: what the research says and introducing a robotic pet.