If bushfires and a global pandemic weren’t enough to have providers gripping their seats, next year will.
Thanks to COVID, aged care is now top of mind for the politicians – see our reporting of this week’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) in The Daily RESOURCE – and the community.
The Government can no longer avoid its responsibility to aged care providers and the people they represent.
Despite widely published criticism from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews early in the pandemic, the fact is the aged care sector has done well to care for its residents compared to other countries.
But the real story for this year has been the Royal Commission – and the financial viability and future sustainability of the sector.
The Royal Commission’s findings – set to be delivered to the Governor-General by 26 February 2021, just over two months away – will deliver major reforms including a new Aged Care Act, new financial models and a new digital world.
The quality, pay and development of the aged care workforce will also be high on the agenda.
How many providers will be equipped for this new world?
With increased funding on the way, it will not be enough to stop some providers from exiting the sector – see the MinterEllison story here in today's newsletter.
Widespread consolidation across residential care and home care is expected, from 800-plus operators to just 100.
We also estimate that even without consolidation, 65% of middle and senior executives will retire or leave the sector within three years.
The question is: who will lead this transformation?
