Rather than employing more workers to cope with COVID-19, many nursing homes have cut staff numbers.

Sixty-four per cent of aged care workers reported staff cuts since the beginning of March, a survey by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) revealed.

ANMF federal secretary, Annie Butler, told the Aged Care Royal Commission that it took more than a month, and media attention, to be granted a meeting with the federal aged care minister, Richard Colbeck, to discuss the “astonishing” issue.

“There was supposed to be money dedicated specifically for increasing staffing and skills but there’s no accountability. There’s no checking of where that money has gone,” Annie said.

“In Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and some parts of NSW, aged care providers are actually cutting staff.

“We were told at the time we did our survey that some providers had cut staff from 1 March but over the last month or two, the feedback from members and even from employers directly, is that their cutting [of] staff has increased.”

Annie also said members had reported “incredible breaches of infection control”, with workers telling the union “they could only use one glove rather than two” to conserve PPE while others were “told to reuse equipment – put it in collective plastic bags”.

Most of the 1513 members who took part in the ANMF survey were from NSW, Queensland and Victoria, were AiNs/PCWs, were women, and worked part-time.

Prominent victims of staff cuts were casual workers forced to choose between employers as they were only permitted to work at one facility.

Agency staff were also reported to be particularly impacted by cuts.

Staff cuts were more common at facilities owned by for-profit providers.

Almost half (43 per cent) of participants did not feel prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak in their workplace.