Not For Profit RFBI, which cares for over 2,300 older Australians, is spending millions of dollars to house staff just to keep its business going.

CEO Frank Price told The Weekly SOURCE it has bought three further houses in Coffs Harbour, Lakemba and Tamworth, three container homes which are now in situ at RFBI Raleigh Urunga and RFBI Bellingen, both on the NSW Mid-Coast, and two granny flats. A demountable at RFBI Kurri Kurri is being converted into a two-bedroom unit.

The new accommodation is to house care workers who have come to work for RFBI yet cannot compete in the fierce rental market. The need to house the workers is also seeing RFBI turn retirement village stock into aged care workers’ homes. This increases the losses.

Aged care losses “unsustainable”

With 65,000 aged care workers estimated to be leaving the sector each year, and a 35,000-worker shortfall, Frank says that he had to be on the front foot with staffing to keep residents safe.

“Everyone is in the same boat,” said Alyson Pearce, RFBI Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer.

Frank is working with Michael Bermejo, Director of Key 2 Care Health Solutions and Key 2 Learning College and has already accepted 40 care workers. Another 16 are due next month and almost 90 in March.

RFBI is working with Whiddon on the intakes.

The Key 2 workers have three months free accommodation from RFBI but are finding it hard to find alternative accommodation.

“None of the workers have driving licences so the accommodation has to be within walking distance of the workplace. Another bottleneck that we face,” said Alyson.

Frank said the desperate staffing measures have not forced the NFP to borrow money. One wonders how long such measures can be sustained, however?