Rod Cooke, CEO, Community Services & Health Industry Skills Council

Aged Care Workforce Strategy 2024

Agenda for Change To avoid a future care crisis Australia needs to address the following challenges: strong and changing service demand uncertainty in the policy environment workforce supply gaps data gaps difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff threats to training capacity

Presentation overview navigate a complex workforce context articulate key workforce challenges describe the required Aged Care workforce make the case for an integrated National Community

Services and Health workforce plan to support a workforce strategy for Aged Care

highlight the implications of inaction

The Aged Care Workforce …? Description is complicated when you consider:

range of health and community services for older people Aged Care is traditionally thought to consist of residential and community care, however wider health and

community services also provide care and support to older people

relative mobility of workers between services different types of workers

Including: direct care workers (mainly nurses, care and support workers) and non-direct care workers (mainly ancillary workers, administrators and managers)

numbers of workers (headcount) and the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions

The Aged Care Workforce …? Description is complicated when you consider:

range of health and community services for older people

It’s worth noting:

18% of aged care recipients are in residential care 82% of aged care recipients receive HACC

relative mobility of workers between services different types of workers

Including: direct care workers (mainly nurses, care and support workers) and non-direct care workers (mainly ancillary workers, administrators and managers)

numbers of workers (headcount) and the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) direct care workers – by occupational group

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,000

FTE: Residential Care FTE: Community Care

Allied HealthCCW/PCA*Enrolled NurseRegistered Nurse

94,823

54,537 *Workers defined as: Community Care Workers in the community and Personal Care Attendants in residential care

Data Source: The Aged Care Workforce Final Report 2012

Direct care workers by head count - by occupational group

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

Headcount: Residential Care Headcount: Community Care

Allied HealthCCW/PCA*Enrolled NurseRegistered Nurse

147,086

93,358

*Workers defined as: Community Care Workers in the community and Personal Care Attendants) in residential care

Data Source: The Aged Care Workforce Final Report 2012

Context: Aged Care Workers Q: Why should workforce planning look beyond residential and community aged care services? A: Because: interconnected nature of services need to develop a community services and health

workforce that is responsive to the needs of all older people important contribution of informal, unpaid carers

Context: Who is an informal carer? The Carer Recognition Act, 2010 means that: being recognised as a carer is not dependent on being in

receipt of any kind of financial payments recognition of the caring role is inclusive of all age groups,

family relationships and cultural backgrounds

Context: Role of the Informal Carer

‘Informal carers provide the majority of direct care to older Australians and often play a key role in the co-ordination of formal care services. Their role is not only fundamental to those they care for, but the functioning of the aged care system overall.’ Productivity Commission, 2011

Context: Number of Informal Carers Who provides care in Australia?

2% 12%

9%

8%

69%

Managers

Professionals

Community and PersonalService Workers

Other OccupationalGroups*

Informal Carers

Data Sources: 1) Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Census via Table Builder, Health Care and Social Assistance workers by occupational group (1-digit ANZSCO) 2) ABS Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers (SDAC) 2009

Key Workforce Challenges environment challenge Demographic factors and key policy drivers

increased and changing demand for services

Reduced growth & funding constrictions

increased emphasis on workforce productivity

Shifting policy landscape (service and VET)

planning for an uncertain future

Difficulty recruiting and retaining matching qualified workers to job roles

Multiple responsible agencies and sources of workforce planning data

Navigating a complex system

Required Aged Care Workforce

How many aged care workers will we need in the future? in residential and community aged care services? across the wider health and community services

workforce ?

Projected workers needed for residential vs community care (by headcount)

Source: adapted from Table E.23 commission calculations, Caring for Older Australians, Productivity Commission 2011

Projected workers needed for direct care vs non-direct care (by headcount)

Source: adapted from Table E.23 commission calculations, Caring for Older Australians, Productivity Commission 2011

The detailed data slide

*Total workforce requirement may not reflect sum of components due to rounding Source: adapted from Table E.23 commission calculations, Caring for Older Australians, Productivity Commission 2011

Implications for creating a national Aged Care strategy?

Australia’s workforce development plan A national plan needs to: establish a whole community services and health

workforce approach to workforce planning involve transparent workforce planning systems and

processes, with clear lines of accountability support:

• enhanced workforce productivity • recruitment and retention • development of skills for changing service needs • strong training provider/ workplace partnerships

Supporting the development of the Aged Care Workforce The national workforce development plan needs to be supported by: strategies that address workforce development needs in a

specific service context, e.g. current initiative to develop leadership capability in aged care

regional workforce development solutions, e.g. the ten regional networks in aged care

Implications of inaction As a nation we will struggle to: deliver consumer-directed

care support clients with co-

morbidities afford a basic care and

support system produce quality trained and

experienced workers manage our ageing

workforce

It’s still not too late, we hope …

For more information about the issues raised in this presentation, please contact Dr Brendan Goodger, Policy and Research Manager on: brendan.goodger@cshisc.com.au Or visit www.cshisc.com.au and read our 2014 EScan