We wrote this page for residential aged care and community services across Australia. It will help clinical leads, managers, and procurement teams validate stock, meet standards, and control costs. You can scan the categories, check compliance, and apply the planning steps with your team straight away.
Care standards and compliance in Australia
Aged care providers must deliver safe, person centred care. That means buying consumables that support infection control, clinical quality, and resident dignity, and keeping records that prove it.
Make two habits routine. Buy regulated items that appear on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, and store product information sheets and batch details so you can trace and recall quickly.
Overview of Aged Care Quality Standards
The standards expect safe and effective care, risk management, and resident involvement. Consumables enable that work, from PPE and dressings to continence and documentation items.
Map each category to the relevant standard for audit evidence. For example, PPE and cleaning support infection control, while continence and skin care support personal and clinical care.
Infection prevention and control requirements
Day to day infection control depends on single use items, hand hygiene products, and environmental cleaning. Keep the correct PPE by size and type, and stock wipes and disinfectants that match your surfaces.
Build outbreak readiness. Keep a buffer of masks, gloves, gowns, and rapid tests, rotate stock by date.
Therapeutic Goods Administration approval and ARTG checks
Many clinical consumables must appear on the ARTG before supply. Check entries when you onboard a product and keep the reference with purchasing records.
If a product is not a medical device, confirm it meets relevant Australian standards and your infection control policy. Ask suppliers for conformity documents when you need assurance.
Core consumable categories for aged care
The ten categories below reflect daily care, chronic disease management, and emergency readiness in Australian aged care. Use them as a checklist and adapt to your scope of practice.
Infection prevention and control
Treat PPE and cleaning materials as your first line of defence. Keep nitrile gloves, medical masks, eye protection, gowns, hand rub, soap, and surface disinfectant wipes, plus clinical waste and sharps containers in appropriate sizes.
Document which items are single patient use and which are single use, and set par levels that cover routine work and short surges. Fit checking for masks should be part of your policy where relevant.
Wound management and dressings
Older skin is fragile and wounds are common. Stock sterile gauze, non adherent pads, foam dressings, alginates, hydrocolloids, fixation tapes, saline pods, and skin prep wipes.
Match your range to the wounds you see. Keep options for skin tears, venous leg ulcers, and pressure injuries, and use simple selection guides so staff choose correctly and reduce wastage.
Continence care
Residents need comfort, dignity, and skin protection. Maintain a full size range of pull ups, all in one briefs, bed and chair protectors, and male guards, plus catheter sets, drainage bags, and securement devices for those with indwelling catheters.
For residents with stomas, stock baseplates, pouches, seals, and stoma powder or paste agreed with clinicians. Pair continence purchasing with barrier creams and gentle wipes to prevent dermatitis.
Medication administration and injection supplies
Safe medication practice relies on small items. Keep oral dosing syringes, medication cups, pill crushers or splitters, and clear labels. For injectables, stock syringes, needles, alcohol wipes, and sharps containers by size.
For insulin, keep pen needles and spare sharps containers in permitted areas. If within scope, maintain IV or subcutaneous consumables and store vaccines with cold chain monitoring.
Diagnostic and monitoring consumables
Chronic disease management needs point of care testing. Keep glucose meters with compatible test strips, control solutions, and lancets, plus urine test strips and single patient thermometer probe covers.
Carry small stocks of faecal occult blood test kits and rapid antigen tests where clinically indicated. Log meters, cuffs, and lots for calibration, expiry, and replacement.
Nutrition, hydration, and enteral feeding
Malnutrition and dysphagia are common. Keep oral nutrition supplements under dietitian guidance, and stock thickened drinks and thickening powder that meet IDDSI levels.
For tube feeding, keep prescribed formulas, gravity feeding sets, enteral syringes, and spare tubes or connectors that match your equipment. Rotate stock by expiry and train staff in safe preparation.
Skin and personal care
Daily hygiene prevents skin breakdown. Stock disposable washcloths, no rinse cleansers, shampoo caps, and incontinence wipes, plus barrier creams with zinc oxide or dimethicone, moisturisers, and no sting barrier film.
Add adhesive remover wipes to protect fragile skin during dressing changes, and maintain oral care items such as soft swabs, denture cups, and cleaning tablets.
Mobility and transfer aids
Falls prevention and safe handling need reliable aids. Keep slide sheets, transfer belts, and non slip socks as consumables, and maintain spare grips and tips for walkers and wheelchairs.
If policy permits, use single patient slings to reduce cross infection. Store aids where staff use them so transfers are safe and efficient.
Respiratory therapy and emergency readiness
Some residents live with chronic lung or cardiac disease. Keep oxygen masks, nasal cannulas, and tubing in common sizes, plus nebuliser kits and spacers for inhaler therapy.
For emergencies, ensure AED pads are in date, resuscitation masks are accessible, and first aid consumables such as instant ice packs and splints are available. If you provide suction, stock yankauer tips, tubing, and canisters.
Cognitive and dementia support
A dementia friendly environment reduces distress. Keep large print calendars, orientation boards, pictorial door signs, and activity kits that you refresh when worn.
Stock easy grip cutlery and no spill cups that support independence. Replace sensory items such as fidget blankets and soft therapy animals as they wear out.
Stock planning and procurement
Good supply is a process. Use the steps below to turn categories into a monthly plan your team can run without drama.
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Map categories to clinical risk and resident volume so you can set priorities and assign owners.
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Set par levels using past usage and seasonality, then add a buffer for outbreaks and delivery delays.
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Standardise lines to 1 or 2 options per use case to reduce waste and training time.
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Run a monthly cycle count across store rooms and trolleys to catch shrinkage and expired items.
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Align ordering to delivery timetables and public holidays, and document approved substitutes.
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Record ARTG numbers, batch numbers, and expiry dates for traceability in your inventory system.
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Review spend and usage each quarter with clinical leads and your supplier to improve choices.
Train staff on labelling, first in first out rotation, and escalation when stock is low. Make it easy to raise purchase requests and track progress so you avoid rush buying.
Price and market guidance
Wholesale pricing delivers savings when you standardise products and consolidate orders. Ask for usage reports that show trends so you can tune par levels and reduce waste.
Balance price with quality and compliance. Cheaper gloves or dressings that fail in use increase waste and risk. Trial new products in a single area, collect feedback, and roll out only when they work.
Wholesale versus retail purchasing
Retail is fine for urgent top ups but is rarely economical for clinical items. Wholesale supply gives better pricing, batch traceability, and dependable restocking, with easier returns and substitutions.
Fewer deliveries free staff time and reduce disruption during mealtimes and medication rounds.
Contracting and tender considerations
Larger services should run a light tender for core consumables every 12 to 24 months. Require ARTG listings for regulated items, conformance statements for others, and sample packs for clinical review.
Score on quality, delivery, service, and data as well as price. Set simple service levels such as next business day delivery in metro areas, cut off times for orders, and written approval for substitutions.
Quality assurance and cost control
Build quality checks into your store room routine. Inspect cartons for damage on arrival and verify batch and expiry details, then record them for recall readiness.
Use quarterly reviews to remove slow lines, consolidate similar items, and reinvest savings into categories that lift resident comfort and safety.
Complete Wholesale Suppliers for Aged Care and Disability
Complete Wholesale Suppliers is an Australian owned wholesaler that serves aged care, disability support services, and healthcare providers nationwide. We include them here because they carry the mix aged care relies on and provide account support that simplifies purchasing and stock planning.
They list core ranges that include medical and PPE supplies, first aid, cleaning products, detergents, paper products, and office supplies that support documentation and administration. They focus on compliance, delivery reliability, and account management, with help for stock forecasting, substitutes when an item is unavailable, and consolidated invoicing that saves time.
If you open a trade account, set up a starter basket aligned to your par levels and request usage reports each quarter. That way procurement becomes a consistent process and you can focus more time on residents and staff.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to buy everything on this page?
No. Use the categories as a checklist and match them to your model of care. If you do not deliver tube feeding you do not need enteral sets, but you may still need thickened drinks if dysphagia is common.
How much PPE should we keep?
Aim for a 2 to 4 week buffer for masks, gloves, and gowns based on average use, then adjust for seasonality and outbreaks. Rotate stock and run monthly checks.
Do we need branded products?
No. Categories and specifications come first. Focus on ARTG status, quality standards, and usability, and update quick reference guides when items change.
Should residents pay for some items?
Residents may choose to buy personal preference items such as a specific moisturiser. Clinical consumables required to deliver care belong in the facility budget as part of safe service.
Glossary of terms
ARTG. The Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. A database of therapeutic goods that can be lawfully supplied in Australia. Check entries when you onboard medical devices or diagnostic kits.
IDDSI. The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative. A framework that defines texture levels so people with swallowing difficulties can eat and drink safely.
Par level. The minimum quantity you keep on shelf before you reorder. Par levels vary by category, resident mix, and delivery lead times.