Aged Care Complaints Commissioner Rae Lamb, who began her new role this week, said raising concerns also became a safety net that could expose major issues and failings.

She encouraged people to speak up if they had a problem and expected aged care providers to respond appropriately if found wanting.

“That means telling people what's happened, acknowledging that something's not been as good as it could be, apologising for it and then trying to put it right and making sure that it doesn't happen to someone else,” she said. “There are very high stakes, people are very emotionally involved and I think that's understandable.”

Ms Lamb said although the worst cases attracted publicity, she felt these represented only a small proportion of aged care experiences.

A New Zealand project she took part in that sought examples of good aged care showed residents appreciated considerate acts like being given the space to watch their favourite sport or have a morning read in bed.

“It's not rocket science and it's not expensive most of it,” Ms Lamb said.

“Some of it is around time, people having the time to do those things but it's also around just thinking about what it is that matters to individuals and trying to tailor their care accordingly.”

Riverwood Albury manager Hannah Odgers said workers in aged care needed to have respect and compassion for residents.

“These are people that have lived a full life and need a bit of help,” she said.

“They don't like being dismissed, they like to get their opinions across and be listened to, you need to listen to them. I started as a carer way back in the '80s and you can have a great conversation with people while you're providing basic care for them.”

Lutheran Aged Care Albury chief executive Wendy Rocks said because more people now lived in their own homes for longer, residential clients tended to need higher care.

“It's not a babysitting job, it's not a minding job, it's not just accommodation, it is actually caring for people with very complex health needs,” she said.

Mrs Rocks said good service involved considering what residents would like as well as beautiful surroundings and modern facilities, including technological needs. And not everybody could work in the demanding area of aged care.

“It's very vital to get not only the qualified staff but the right sort of people who really see a vocation in looking after elderly people,” Mrs Rocks said. “The quality of staff as far as being able to relate to them is very, very important because they just become like family to them.”