ACCPA welcomes workforce measures but looks forward to further engagement

Aged & Community Care Providers Association has welcomed the federal government’s pledges to improve access to TAFE training, increase skilled migration and speed up visa processing as ways to increase the supply of skilled workers.

ACCPA Interim CEO Paul Sadler said announcements related to more flexible training and workforce arrangements affecting women, pensioners and international students were also welcome, but urgent action is needed now to alleviate aged care staff shortages.

“Aged care providers are so short of staff many are forced to leave aged care beds empty or simply not take on new home and community care clients,” Sadler said.

“ACCPA members are working hard to make sure they can meet the government’s required additional minutes of care for people living in aged care homes but the dire shortage of staff, particularly Registered Nurses, makes it especially challenging.

“We need to recruit more staff as quickly as possible as the number of people leaving aged care is increasing the pressure on those staff who remain.”

Sadler said higher pay is a key driver in attracting staff to work in aged care and ACCPA has been in support of a wage increase for aged care workers since early 2021.

“We look forward to the decision, expected early next year, in the work value case now before the Fair Work Commission,” Sadler said.

“We have viewed with interest the discussion about wages, and the union push for sector-wide bargaining, as having some potential merit for the care economy.

“As the aged care sector’s peak representative body, ACCPA is yet to formulate a policy on sector-wide bargaining and nor have we been approached by government, but we would be happy to join a consultation on the matter. The details of a proposal of that nature will be crucial in how we evaluate that option.

“Once the preliminary FWC work value decision is made, expected early next year, ACCPA will work with the unions and the government to make further submissions to the FWC on operational dates so that workers receive a pay rise as soon as is practicable. The timing of the pay rise will be dependent on when the government provides the appropriate funding to aged care employers. Without the government fully funding any increase including on-costs, providers will not be able to afford a pay increase to their workers.”

Sadler said ACCPA looks forward to further engagement with the government on the issues of the aged care workforce and migration following the jobs summit and other key issues of aged care reform.

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