The deal between the Government and the Opposition to overhaul the funding model for aged care is good news for the sector – but the fundamental issue of staffing shortages, particularly nurses, remains.

Australia is facing a black hole when it comes to people to provide the care and ‘touch’ being promised by the Government under the new Aged Care Act. With the sector on the cusp of unprecedented funding reform, it is also time to rethink the way that aged care and health care is staffed in this country.

As we reported yesterday, the Government revealed the long-awaited response to the Aged Care Taskforce and announced they had reached the agreement with the Opposition on a $5.6 billion aged care reform package.

But there was one glaring omission: workforce.