The Not For Profit, said to be the first leadership group of its kind in Australia’s aged care industry, was established by the Federal Government in May 2019 with its purpose to “transform the aged care workforce”. 

The Aged Care Workforce Industry Council (ACWIC) was initially funded by $10.9 million from the Department of Health and Aged Care with “in kind” funding from providers. In 2022, it spent over $2.6 million. The only income it received that year was Government income and grants of $3.8 million.

The ACWIC’s role was to implement the 14 “strategic actions” outlined in the Aged Care Industry Workforce Taskforce’s ‘A Matter of Care’ report released in mid-2018.

The Council released a statement on Friday announcing it will “cease operations” from that date. It employed 12 people with another two working part-time. 

“ACWIC has recognised that there have been significant changes in the landscape of the sector since the establishment of the organisation in 2019,” it said in a statement. 

The statement listed the Council’s key achievements, including the free online Workforce Planning Tool, collating 10 years of employee sentiment data, and the campaign to celebrate the range of roles in aged care which it claimed was seen by 1.7 million Australians in 2021.

The SOURCE: Workforce is a key challenge facing the aged care sector, but $10.9 million could surely have been put to better use in the care of Australia’s most vulnerable people.