Planning the future of the Aged Care Workforce
According to the Acting Minister for Health and Ageing and Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop, the landmark National Aged Care Workforce Strategy is another major step forward in helping Australia prepare for population ageing. The strategy was developed by the Aged Care Workforce Committee, which advises the Minister on workforce issues, and follows broad consultation with the aged care sector.
“This strategy identifies the workforce profile of the residential aged care sector and its likely needs until 2010. It provides an informed framework for long term structural reform of the aged care workforce to ensure we have a sustainable and viable aged care sector,” Ms Bishop said.
“It includes strategies for workforce supply, education, training, recruitment and retention and to promote aged care work as a career of choice.
“The strategy complements work the Australian Government has been doing since 1996 to upgrade and expand the aged care workforce, including:
- the first national census and survey of the aged care workforce;
- providing almost $150 million for training and education opportunities for aged care workers, including more undergraduate nursing places in universities, and scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate education;
- and a conditional adjustment payment worth an extra $877.8 million over four years to providers to enable them to pay more competitive wages to nurses and other staff.
“In coming years, we will not only have more older Australians, but more people who are frail, as well as new patterns of disease and disability. We will need a skilled, professional and flexible workforce to provide more services, better quality services and more service choices to the growing number of older people.
“The aged care sector – aged care providers, health professionals, unions and educators – have a responsibility to ensure that aged care is an attractive career option. The government is committed to working with them to provide aged care staff with the recognition, financial rewards and opportunities for professional development that they need.”
Jill Iliffe, Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation and a member of the strategy implementation group of the committee, pointed out that demand for aged care services is expected to increase significantly over the next 30 years.
“The provision of these services is dependent on the availability of sufficient workers with the necessary skills. The Aged Care Workforce Strategy is a responsible first step in that direction,” she said.
Strategy Implementation Group member Greg Mundy, Chief Executive Officer of Aged and Community Services Australia, said that our ageing population would affect both the demand for aged care services and the supply of workers.
“The National Aged Care Workforce Strategy provides a good high level framework which will assist the aged care sector and governments to address the challenges facing the aged care workforce,” he said.
Ms Bishop said implementation of the strategy would be influenced by two studies by the Productivity Commission: a study of the economic and fiscal implications of the future ageing of Australia's population on the labour supply; and an examination of the issues impacting on the health workforce over the next 10 years.