Not For Profit aged care and retirement living provider, Scalabrini, hosted an afternoon tea on 5 April for more than 70 of its staff to celebrate their becoming permanent residents of Australia, thanks to the Federal Government visa program.
The event was attended by the staff, family members and friends, as well as Scalabrini CEO Richard de Haast and members of the Scalabrini board.
In total Scalabrini, which has about 1,000 employees, has sponsored more than 90 team members over the past 18 months, helping them secure long-term futures in Australia - and continue working at Scalabrini communities.
Scalabrini has committed $750,000 to its sponsorship program for FY25. The commitment has had a powerful effect on workforce sentiment. Scalabrini proudly reports it's staff turnover is 9%, which is well below the industry average of 35%.
Richard said, "This celebratory event serves as an affirmation of Scalabrini’s mission to support migrants and in doing so create supportive and inclusive workplaces where staff can thrive both personally and professionally."
Scalabrini operates six aged homes across Sydney and the Riverina town of Griffith, in central NSW, four independent living communities across Sydney, and recently launched Live Easy - a new home care service providing care for older people in Sydney.
Aged Care Industry Labour Agreements were launched in May 2023, aimed at streamlining the process for aged care providers to sponsor direct care workers on skilled visas, and offering migrants a fast-tracked two-year pathway to permanent residency if they work in aged care. The Albanese Government said the program had the potential to bring 22,000 aged care workers into Australia over five years. In January we reported that after nearly two years 2,649 visas had been issued.
