Aged Care Workforce

Issue

The Aged Care Workforce Supplement and Compact.

Response

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive high quality care and an appropriately skilled and motivated workforce is essential to achieving this aim. The Government recognises that aged care workers provide an invaluable service in the care of older people and will be an integral part of responding to the care needs of an ageing population.

On 20 April 2012, the Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP, and the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, released a comprehensive 10 year package to reshape aged care. The Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package will build a better, fairer, sustainable and nationally consistent aged care system to meet the social and economic challenges of the nation’s ageing population.

The Government announcement included up to $1.2 billion for the Addressing Workforce Pressures initiative which will better support the people who work in aged care. This initiative will be delivered in two parts – through the Aged Care Workforce Compact and Aged Care Workforce Supplement (the Workforce Supplement), and the Aged Care Workforce Development Plan which will be developed during 2013.

The Aged Care Workforce Supplement, developed in consultation with the sector, will ensure that workforce reforms lead to improvements in terms and conditions for the aged care workforce, which will provide better care and services for older Australians. Through the Workforce Supplement aged care workers will receive more competitive wages.

In addition to the Workforce Supplement, the Aged Care Workforce Development Plan will provide:

improved career structures and pathways;
better training and education;
career development opportunities;
better work practices, including less workplace injuries; and
better workforce planning.

Aged care workers will be more equipped to manage the increasing and complex care needs of older people, through new training and educational opportunities, career development and workforce planning.

Aged care providers will realise productivity gains and improved quality of care through reduced staff turnover and the attraction of more qualified staff to the sector.

Older Australians will benefit from a workforce that has the capacity and skills to provide quality care and which can meet the increased demand for aged care services in coming decades.