Chief Executive Officer of Maitland's Benhome aged care facility Andy Fullerton said the NSW Government's plan, which was in response to recent gastro-outbreaks in nursing homes, would mean more paperwork for already strained workers and would have little benefit to residents.

"I am sick and tired of the industry always being wrong and the only way to fix problems is to regulate and regulate some more," Mr Fullerton said.

"Also who will pay for all this regulation? As it is we get very little for what we actually do. More regulation will mean more staff not being able to care for our residents."

Minister for Ageing Justine Elliott said the response plan would include national guidelines specifically on norovirus (a common and highly infectious cause of gastroenteritis), a review of the accreditation standards on infection control and a gastro awareness and prevention education kit.

She said the plan would build on the new Food and Safety Standard and would come into effect in October this year.

"My primary concern is the welfare and care of residents," Mrs Elliott said.

"Infection control in nursing homes is a big task when one considers that residents are often frail, aged and vulnerable to infection.

"We can never wipe out infectious diseases but we must always look at ways to minimise risk."

Mr Fullerton said it was usually relatives or friends of residents who brought the bug into aged care homes through food prepared at home.

"How do we control relatives and friends visiting?

"If we lock the facility down everyone is against us.

"We do our best but if we weren't always bogged down in paperwork maybe we could do an even better job," he said.

"Instead of coming up with more regulations why doesn't Justine Elliott visit some of the facilities and speak to the aged care providers.

"It appears to me that Mrs Elliott is looking at the industry from a very departmental view.

"Why not stop the knee-jerk reactions and speak to the people?

"This is an industry that has good, caring and compassionate people working in it and I have the best staff, volunteers and board that could be found anywhere in Australia, yet we are constrained by the reactions of a Minister that is responsible for the industry by telling all and sundry that it is always us who are at fault."

In 2007, there were 1825 gastro reported outbreaks in Australia. Of those 989 were in nursing homes.

From January 1 this year to today there have been 671 outbreaks nationally, 383 were reported in aged care homes.