Measure 5.8: Decreased number of people living with dementia who experience use of inappropriate restrictive practices in aged care
Restrictive practices should only ever be used as a last resort, but sometimes they are an important measure to help prevent harm (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2025). Despite the legislative requirements and practice guides in place for the use of restrictive practices there are still occurrences of the inappropriate use of a restrictive practice in residential aged care homes, as well as home and community settings (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2025).
There are no data currently available to track this measure of progress, but data development is underway: linked data from the National Health Data Hub are being assessed as a data source to measure the use of antipsychotic medicines (associated with chemical restraints) for people living with dementia in residential aged care. Further data development is needed to measure the use of other restrictive practices in aged care, such as physical restraints.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (2025) Restrictive practices in aged care – a last resort, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website, accessed 6 October 2025.