Aged care peak bodies join forces to lobby Government for workforce strategy

The industry’s heavy hitters – ACSA, the Aged Care Guild, Leading Age Services Australia, Catholic Health Australia and UnitingCare Australia – have united to urge the Federal Government to establish an “industry-led taskforce”.

They have released a joint framework paper for policy responses to the challenges facing the aged care workforce, including the balance between the supply of and demand for workers and increased workloads for staff.

“While this taskforce would be industry-led, it requires the support of government, through a commitment on the part of agencies to collaborate and participate in consultations with other stakeholder groups,” ACSA’s pre-budget submission states.

The Government has previously said it would be willing to provide funding for such a strategy, but its development would be the sector’s responsibility.