Setting the Standard: Project Kinnexus

Building upon the experience and outputs of the Aged Care Data Compare (ACDC) flagship project, the DHCRC is investing in the development of a production-ready SMART on FHIR Quality Indicator App to demonstrate the feasibility and value to industry of a solution for standardising the functional assessment of older Australians and generating evidence-based quality indicators.

Now is the time for Australia to shape the aged care data landscape to ensure we are meeting the needs of Australians through connected care that:

  • Adopts a consistent national approach to the functional assessment of older people;
  • Establishes an aged care minimum data set that aligns with the rest of healthcare; and
  • Supports generation of evidence-based quality indicators.

Kinnexus: Your Opportunity to Drive Innovation in Aged Care

Kinnexus: Your Opportunity to Drive Innovation in Aged Care

Kinnexus, a pioneering initiative from the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC), is the result of extensive research through the Aged Care Data Compare (ACDC) project. It showcases what modern aged care can achieve—nationally standardised functional assessments and a robust platform for consistent, reliable quality indicator data.

DHCRC is now seeking forward-thinking aged care providers and their technology vendors to take part in the next stage of Kinnexus—expressions of interest (EOI) are open until 13 February. This is your chance to lead the way in workflow transformation and workforce efficiency, positioning your organisation at the forefront of sector improvement. To join the trial or refer a colleague, fill in the EOI form or contact us at kinnexus@dhcrc.com.

Participants benefit from hands-on experimentation with a clinical information system simulator, or can deploy Kinnexus in their own development environment, with all necessary technical support supplied. Forward thinking vendors are encouraged to put Kinnexus to the test and help shape its future to better meet sector needs. By successfully integrating Kinnexus software vendors will benefit from being able to use SMART on FHIR for other functions.

Now is the time to get involved. By minimising manual data entry and enabling data captured once to be reused many times, Kinnexus refocuses valuable clinical hours onto resident care—delivering real benefits to providers, staff, and residents alike.

This is a narrow but powerful window to shape the sector’s future. Providers who are part of the Kinnexus trial will gain first move advantages in efficiency and innovation, strengthening credibility with consumers and regulators and supporting their nurses and clinicians with workflow efficiencies – redirecting time back to where it matters most.

Lead the next era of quality, insight, and connected aged care – get involved with Kinnexus!

Participating in the Kinnexus trial is a unique chance to see first-hand the workflow and productivity gains that come from streamlined, standardised mandatory Quality Indicator (QI) reporting. By joining, you will help set the benchmark for how functional needs data is collected across the sector—making a direct impact on the future of aged care in Australia.

Nurses who have tested Kinnexus have spoken about the benefits of supporting all nurses, particularly newly qualified or new to aged care, to receive support in understanding and completing the comprehensive functional assessment. Quality Managers have greater confidence in the data informing QI reporting, and those managing mandatory QI reporting will save significant time in the process of generating and submitting quarterly Government reporting. In addition, they will have the ability to drill down to individual resident QIs and interrogate the robust data. Best of all, these QIs are generated in real time, automatically, from the interRAI LTCF assessment.

Users and our technology partners have also identified other functions they would like to see Kinnexus supporting. Participating in the current trials of Kinnexus will give you the opportunity to vote on and potentially trial some of these new features.

Send your EOI to us by 13 February to receive:

  • Comprehensive support funded by DHCRC, including personal access to HL7 FHIR experts to build knowledge and confidence with SMART on FHIR technology and standards.
  • Support from DHCRC partners, from QI and interRAI experts, with the validation of mapping data from your clinical information system to Kinnexus data elements.
  • Full access to a User Test Guide, hands-on training, and opportunities for ongoing collaboration and learning alongside sector leaders.
  • The chance to discover meaningful operational improvements—freeing up valuable time that can be redirected to resident care for nurses and clinicians.
  • Insight into how Kinnexus strengthens the evidence base for quality, supporting consumers, care protocols, and reporting requirements alike.
  • A say in the future direction of Kinnexus, with the ability to influence upcoming features and use cases based on real-world provider feedback.

Take advantage of this rare opportunity to work directly with emerging national digital health standards and play an active role in shaping Australia’s aged care data landscape.

The trial offer has the following requirements:

  • Complete Expression of Interest
  • Identification of a clinical lead, and a resource with data expertise from your organisation/vendor partnership
  • A nominated date and time for a 2 hour initial discovery workshop in February
  • Ability to bring groups of nurses or clinicians together in order to test Kinnexus

There are different technical options available for providers and vendors to integrate and trial Kinnexus. An initial discovery meeting will be held within a week of receipt of your EOI to confirm feasibility, roles and timelines.

We will then put in place a simple agreement outlining our offer and respective responsibilities.

Vendor technical requirements can be found here.

If you are a Leecare Solutions customer, Kinnexus has already been successfully integrated, the timeline for deploying Kinnexus will be relatively quick.

Vendor specific questions:

(optional)

Do you wish to use the DHCRC Kinnexus aged care clinical information software simulator?
Are you interested in trialling Kinnexus within your own vendor development environment?

The Vendor Technical Requirements for the Kinnexus Industry Offer can be found here. More information on these will be gathered during the initial discovery workshop, and these are supplied for discussion purposes only. 

Join our mission

DHCRC is seeking champions for reform to support the groundswell for aged care data standardisation and join us on this journey as:

  • an observer – to shape this solution, and learn more about SMART on FHIR and its potential to transform health and aged care: or
  • a vendor – to connect and test the solution, or
  • an aged care or primary care provider – to help us test and try the solution.

DHCRC is holding monthly webinars to provide updates on the progress of Project Kinnexus and to build industry involvement. All are welcome to attend, and we encourage you to invite your colleagues to join. Webinars are free but require registration.

DHCRC’s Aged Care Impact Series Webinar Updates

Kick off webinar

Thursday, 26th June 2025
3.30 pm to 4.30 pm AEST

Read more

Webinar 2 – meet our developer partners

Thursday, 24th July 2025
4 pm to 5 pm AEST

Read more

Webinar 3 – understand the development journey

Thursday, 28th August 2025
3.30 pm to 4.30 pm AEST

Read more

Webinar 4 – continue the development journey

Thursday, 25th September 2025
3.30 pm to 4.30 pm AEST

Read more

Webinar 5 – user stories tested

Thursday, 23rd October 2025

Read more

Webinar 6 – show time

Thursday, 20th November 2025

Read more

Any questions? Get in touch via email: kinnexus@dhcrc.com