The inaugural State of the Sector report by the peak body for aged care providers, Aged and Community Care Providers' Association (ACCPA), released on Wednesday, shows that 17% of aged care providers were 'not at all' optimistic about their ability to provide aged care services by 2027.
Larger aged care providers were more confident than smaller providers about their future, with 83% of providers with more than 100 residents stating they were confident of their ability to remain in the sector in three years' time, compared with only 63% for providers with fewer than 50 residents.
CEO of ACCPA
The findings come from an online survey conducted in April 2024, commissioned by ACCPA for the report, by independent researchers SEC Newgate Research, which received responses from 191 retirement living, residential aged care and home care services.
The 19-page report also shows that nearly all (97%) were concerned about rising costs and Government funding (92%).
One in five smaller providers are not confident about their ability to deliver care in the next 12 months and only 28% of providers were confident they could attract capital for building refurbishments or new builds.
“Australia’s population is ageing and we need to be ready. It’s critical that funding is sufficient to deliver care and to attract investment so we can build for the future," said ACCPA CEO Tom Symondson.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) said transition timeframes for the incoming aged care reforms were too fast.
“Providers fully support well designed reform, but that reform must be at a manageable pace and not exacerbate already existing problems,” Tom said.
Workforce shortages were also a major concern, with migration not helping. 64% said they are unable to access the workers under current migration arrangements.
You can read the full report here.
The ACCPA National Conference will be held in Adelaide on 23-25 October 2024.