Australia’s peak body for aged care providers is calling on the Government to fund a National Aged Care Workforce Strategy in its Pre-Budget Submission 25-26 to help address workforce shortages, which are particularly impacting regional areas.
The purpose of the Taskforce will be to “undertake data collection, sector-specific projections, and identify strategies to address gaps in skills, staffing shortages, and changing care demands”.
The Albanese Government launched Aged Care Industry Labour Agreements (ACILAs), with Curtin Heritage the first aged care provider to implement the scheme. In January, we reported that 113 ACILAs were in place, with 2,649 visas issued. In addition, in the 2023-25 Budget, the Albanese Government extended the PALM scheme, which allows eligible aged care operators to hire workers from nine Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste.
The Ageing Australia Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26 also calls for the establishment of an Aged Care Worker Attraction Fund and $9 million for “improving access to migrant workers to build a sustainable workforce”.
The submission makes nine recommendations in total, including:
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conduct a review of the accommodation supplement “as soon as possible”;
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an additional $188 million to support transitioning to the new Aged Care Act;
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$600 million to support providers’ investment in technology to meet the obligations of the new Act; and
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the piloting of hospital in the home in eight retirement villages.
In our recent conversations with aged care provider CEOs about their 'political wishlist' from Federal politicians in the lead up to the election, almost all have cited workforce as a major concern.
There is currently a shortage of 1,492 nurses in residential aged care, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care, significantly lower the the 2022 gap of 12,840. 2023 Department of Health and Aged Care estimates put the total workforce gap at more than 17,000, however no more recent estimate was available when we asked the Department.
A workforce strategy is not a new concept for the sector. The Aged Care Workforce Taskforce was formed in 2017, tasked with ‘developing industry-led workforce solutions’. The Taskforce was Chaired by John Pollaers OAM and in 2018, released A Matter of Care: Australia’s Aged Care Workforce Strategy which outlined 14 "strategic actions” aimed at attracting and retaining aged care workers. Pollaers expressed his disappointment when the Government never issued a formal response.
