The Government should introduce visa sponsorships for the aged care sector to help plug major workforce shortages, according to the major Not For Profit organisation.
The peak body, which represents 12% of Australia’s aged care facilities, is also calling for personal care workers to become eligible for sponsorship and for the cumbersome visa application process to be streamlined.
In its pre-budget submission, CHA states the aged care sector currently has 60,000 care and nursing job vacancies. The figure is set to rise with modelling commissioned by CHA showing that 6,000 more nurses and 10,000 more personal care nurses will be needed to meet minimum care minutes requirements by October.
To help plug this gap, the Catholic aged care sector is calling for an industry-wide approach to the Pacific Australia Labor Migration (PALM) scheme that would involve both training and work for Pacific migrants.
CHA is proposing that by taking an industry-wide approach, they could recruit job-ready applicants from the Pacific region for training and work experience in Australia and support their return as skilled and experienced workforce to their nations at the end of the agreed work period.
CHA would also like to see a new health and care worker passport, to streamline compliance checks and for a reduction in visa application costs and waiting times.
Catholic Health Australia Aged Care Director Jason Kara said: “In under a year all operators will be required to give 200 minutes of care a day per resident, of which 40 must be by a registered nurse.
“Unless there is drastic action on the current trajectory many aged care operators just won’t have the staff that’s needed.
“Industry-wide visa sponsorship, a recommendation of the Jobs and Skills Summit, would help reduce the shortage by coordinating recruitment, training and onboarding, reducing overheads and other barriers for providers and applicants.
“Incorporating training in Australia into the programme will help develop a future skilled workforce in partner Pacific nations when migrants return home, giving back to our neighbours and their communities.”
