ACA is the abbreviation for the Aged Care Association New Zealand. This organisation (previously colloquially referred to as NZACA) is the professional body that represents nearly all providers of Aged Residential Care in New Zealand (that is, rest homes, dementia care home, and aged care hospitals). These providers pay a membership fee to belong to the organisation. In return the organisation represents them in a number of different ways and provides them with support services. One of the important ways the Association works is to lobby politicians and help them understand the sector and ask for further support and funding. They may also offer training and workshops for those who work in the sector and may be called upon to be the media spokesperson.
The ACA does not audit their members. Audit information about all care homes in New Zealand can be found on the Ministry of Health website and is undertaken by independent accredited auditors.
ACA can also be a port of call if you, or someone you’re supporting, have an issue or concern about the services being received in a care home and the care home is a member of ACA. To understand the full complaints process click here.
You can visit the ACA website by clicking here.
There is another organisation which also represents care homes called CANZ, read more about them here.
Updated: 10 Aug 2023