Aged Care – $17.7 Billion Boost to Upskill Workers and Create New Jobs | Sarina Russo

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Home / News / Aged Care – $17.7 Billion Boost to Upskill Workers and Create New Jobs

Aged Care – $17.7 Billion Boost to Upskill Workers and Create New Jobs

By SRG Editorial Media Team
An aged care worker strolling with an elderly lady, both smiling
Aged Care – $17.7 Billion Boost to Upskill Workers and Create New Jobs
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The Australian Federal Government has announced a $17.7 billion package of support and once-in-a-generation reforms to aged care.

The reforms will see Australia’s Aged Care Sector grow exponentially and care workers upskilled and better supported. Employees, clients and families

“We are committed to restoring trust in the system and allowing Australians to age with dignity and respect,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, said in his 2021 budget speech.¹

What does this mean for the aged care workforce?

Time to buckle up! The next 4 years are going to be monumental for the aged care sector. As previously said, this is a once-in-a-generation change to aged care in Australia and the impact of this funding will be felt throughout the sector and preposition every elderly Australian.

For the workforce, this will mean additional jobs and a greater need for skilled workers in the industry. The Australian Government has forecasted that an additional 57,000 aged workers will be needed, including 18,000 to provide in-home care ‘services’, by 2024.² The need for aged care workers is predicted to continue increasing drastically and in 2050, the Productivity Commission estimates 980,000 workers will be needed to satisfy demands.³

In response to the findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Final Report, the Australian Government has decided to ensure that all aged care workers are skilled, professional and compassionate. Therefore, it has been recommended that, as the mandatory minimum, all aged care workers complete a Certificate III qualification.

The Sarina Russo Institute offers both a CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing, Disability) and a CHC52015 Diploma of Community Services. These courses are offered both online (Domestic students) and/or face to face at our Brisbane campus (Domestic or International students).

Our programs take into account your existing skillset, knowledge and past training. With our courses, you will gain a wider skill set and experience of what it’s like working in the community services sector. Whether you want to move into or further along this rewarding career path, our courses will be able to assist you.

If you have any questions or queries about studying at Sarina Russo Institute or completing a diploma program, please don’t hesitate to email our Career Counsellor at: [email protected]

Key elements and the 5 pillars of the Australian Governments response to aged care include:

*Information on the 5 pillars has been sourced from The Australian Government Department of Health website.

  • $7.5 billion towards supporting senior Australians who choose to remain in their home, including:
    • $6.5 billion for an additional 80,000 Home Care Packages – 40,000 released in 2021–22 and 40,000 in 2022–23, which will make a total of 275,598 packages available to senior Australians by June 2023
    • $10.8 million to design and plan a new support in home care program which better meets the needs of senior Australians
    • $798.3 million to support the 1.6 million informal carers, including additional respite services for 8,400 senior Australians each year, and
    • $272.5 million for enhanced support and face-to-face services to assist senior Australians accessing and navigating the aged care system.
  • $7.8 billion towards improving and simplifying residential aged care services and to ensure senior Australians can access value for money services, including:
    • $3.9 billion to increase the amount of front line care (care minutes) delivered to residents of aged care and respite services, mandated at 200 minutes per day, including 40 minutes with a registered nurse
    • $3.2 billion to support aged care providers to deliver better care and services, including food through a new Government-funded Basic Daily Fee Supplement of $10 per resident per day
    • $102.1 million to assign residential aged care places directly to senior Australians, and to support providers to adjust to a more competitive market
    • $49.1 million to expand the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority to help ensure that aged care costs are directly related to the care provided
    • $189.3 million for a new Australian National Aged Care Classification to deliver a fairer and more sustainable funding arrangements, and
    • $5.5 million to reform residential aged care design and planning to better meet the needs of senior Australians, particularly those living with dementia.
  • $942 million to drive systemic improvements to residential aged care quality and safety, including:
    • $365.7 million to improve access to primary care for senior Australians, including the transition of senior Australians between aged care and health care setting and improved medication management
    • $262.5 million to ensure the independent regulator, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), is well equipped to safeguard the quality, safety and integrity of aged care services and can effectively address failures in care
    • $7.3 million for additional resources to build capacity within residential aged care for the care of senior Australians living with dementia
    • $67.5 million for the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service and the Severe Behaviour Response Teams to further reduce reliance on physical and chemical restraint (restrictive practices), and
    • $200.1 million to introduce a new star rating system to highlight the quality of aged care services, better informing senior Australians, their families and carers, including
    • $94.0 million to expand independent advocacy to support greater choice and quality safeguards for senior Australians.
  • $652.1 million to grow a skilled, professional and compassionate aged care workforce, which will be the powerhouse of the Government’s reform agenda, including:
    • upskilling the existing workforce and providing training for thousands of new aged care workers
    • $228.2 million to create a single assessment workforce to undertake all assessments that will improve and simplify the assessment experience for senior Australians as they enter or progress within the aged care system
    • $135.6 million to provide eligible Registered Nurses with financial support of $3,700 for full-time workers, and $2,700 for part-time workers, nursing scholarships and places in the Aged Care Transition to Practice Program; and
    • $9.8 million to extend the national recruitment campaign, to help increase the skilled and dedicated aged care workforce.
  • $698.3 million to improve the governance across the aged care system. This will embed respect, care and dignity at the heart of the system, guaranteeing better choice, high quality and safe care for senior Australians, including:
    • $21.1 million to establish new governance and advisory structures, including a National Aged Care Advisory Council, and a Council of Elders, and to work towards establishment of an office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care
    • $630.2 million to improve access to quality aged care services for consumer in regional, rural and remote areas including those with First Nations backgrounds and special needs groups
    • $13.4 million to improve rural and regional stewardship of aged care, with Department of Health aged care officers embedded within eight of the 31 Primary Health Network regions, and
    • The drafting of a new Aged Care Act to enshrine the Government’s reforms in legislation by mid-2023.

With the demand for aged care workers expected to skyrocket in coming years, there has never been a better time than now to start a career in aged care. If you are interested in working in aged care and would like to discuss pathway options, please don’t hesitate to email our Career Counsellor at: [email protected]

 

[1] The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, Budget Speech, Retrieved on 24 May, 2021, from https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-2018/speeches/budget-speech-2021-22
[2] Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, Media Release: Guaranteeing access to essential supports and services, Retrieved on 24 May, 2021
[3] Developing sustainable career pathways for aged care workers, 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021, from https://bcec.edu.au/assets/BCEC-Report-Developing-sustainable-career-pathways-for-aged-care-workers.pdf
[4] Federal budget as it happened: Funding for aged care, mental health and skills improvement as Josh Frydenberg hands down Australian budget, Retrieved on 25 May, 2021, from https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/federal-budget-2021-live-updates-women-aged-care-and-skills-on-the-agenda-as-frydenberg-prepares-to-hand-down-federal-budget-20210511-p57qsa.html?post=p526rw

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