Aged Care Workforce Strategy

Overview

The Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce (the Taskforce) welcomes your input to the development of the Aged Care Workforce Strategy (the Strategy).

The Taskforce was formed on 1 November 2017, and is due to report to the Minister for Aged Care, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP by 30 June 2018. It is headed by an independent chair, Professor John Pollaers.

The Taskforce is developing a strategy for growing and sustaining the workforce providing aged care services and support for older people, to meet their care needs in a variety of settings across Australia. The Taskforce will place particular emphasis on:

• Workforce planning covering workforce size and structure, managing growth and changes in service requirements, mix of occupations, workforce roles and distinct workforce needs in different care settings and market catchments.
• Supply and retention of the right workers with the right aptitudes in the right locations, and securing and sustaining up-to-date skills.
• The capacity of providers as employers, and the role of sector leadership, to equip the workforce to meet service requirements, needs and expectations of quality of care and services.
• Building sector-wide capabilities to innovate and extend new ways of working tailored to the needs of the older people who use aged care services, their families, carers and communities.

In undertaking its work, the Taskforce will be expected to:

• Assess trends, emerging issues and potential scenarios relevant to the current and future workforce.
• Cover the entire aged care workforce engaged in providing care and services, including support staff, contracted services and volunteers.
• Work in the context of aged care system policy settings, integrity, consumer safeguards and funding.
• Consider wider government policy settings of relevance to the workforce.
• Have regard to recent submissions to and reports of relevant inquiries on aged care workforce matters, and government responses.
• Engage and consult widely to ensure all points of view are heard and considered.
• Integrate in its work an inclusive and responsive workforce to support the diverse needs of older people.
• Ensure coverage of regional, rural, remote and very remote workforce issues.
• Consider cross-sectoral challenges and opportunities, particularly with the health, disability, education and employment sectors.
• Incorporate short term, medium term and longer term actions as part of a sustainable strategy.

The Taskforce is building its approach to the strategy around five strategic imperatives: 

1. Why the aged care industry matters
2. Industry leadership, mindset and accountability
3. Industry workforce organisation and education (current and future)
4. Industry attraction and retention
5. Translating research and technology into models of care and practice

Consultation and Engagement

As noted above, the Taskforce has been asked to engage and consult widely on shaping and building the strategy. To date, this has included:

• a working summit on 4 December 2017 that brought together a broad range of knowledge, skills and perspectives to support the Taskforce in shaping the Strategy;
• workshops with consumers, carers and aged care employees in five locations nationally with four more to be conducted over February 2018; and
• bilateral discussions with aged care advocates, peak body representatives, employment agencies and others with an interest in the aged care workforce.

These are being supported by targeted community consultations and issues focused roundtables.

This opportunity to provide submissions to the Taskforce is a key element of the Taskforce’s Consultation and Engagement process to ensure all points of view are heard and considered.  Further details about the Taskforce’s work are available from the Taskforce website.

Building on evidence and knowledge

In shaping the Strategy, the Taskforce will take into consideration what has already been covered in recent reviews, inquiries, reports and studies touching on workforce issues.

Additional pieces of work to inform the Taskforce have been commissioned to aid the Taskforce to: assess trends, emerging issues and potential scenarios relevant to the current and future workforce; understand what drives the current workforce profile and perceptions of the industry (from community care through to residential care); understand current organisational, job and career profiles and identify opportunities to build on these and meet the needs of the future; and the role of education and training in supporting the current and future workforces.

Why your views matter

To support its work, the Taskforce is undertaking two phases of broad consultation. In this first phase the Taskforce is seeking your ideas and suggestions on key considerations for each strategic imperative to inform development of the strategy.

The second phase will coincide with the next workforce summit in April 2018 and seek feedback on the draft strategy.

Please share your views on each of the imperatives as indicated below, using a maximum of 250 words for each text box.

If you have previously raised workforce matters for consideration in reviews/inquiries or published materials, and you wish to refer the Taskforce to these, please note them in your submission under Part B, Question 11.

Should you wish to provide broader input than that raised in the questions you may wish to provide an attachment in Word or PDF.

If you have any questions about the submission process, please contact the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce secretariat at: ACWSTaskforce@health.gov.au or call on 1800 020 103 (freecall).

Submissions close on 16 March 2018.

What happens next

The consultation closed on 16 March 2018.

The feedback from the consultation will be used to inform the development of the Aged Care Workforce Strategy.

For more information and updates on the Taskforce's work, please visit its webpage.