No more talking, no more taskforces, no more inquiries, no more deferring responsibility: Australia needs a government that will take decisive action to fix an aged care sector in severe crisis.

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s Final Report made 148 recommendations for wide-scale reform of the aged care system, following its shocking discovery of widespread neglect and systemic failings across the sector.

Central to the report’s recommendations for guaranteeing quality and safety for all elderly Australians was its recognition that the aged care workforce is the most important part of the system.

The commission also said safe, quality care will not be achieved across the sector without having enough staff with the skills and time to care.

The Morrison government responded to the Royal Commission report by committing to implementing a number of its recommendations.

However, the ANMF and the NSWNMA are concerned that five areas that are critical to guaranteeing quality and safety across the sector have either been ignored or not accepted in full by the government.

“The consequence of the failure to address these areas is that too many elderly Australians will continue to needlessly suffer,” said ANMF Secretary Annie Butler.

“The workforce endeavouring to care for them will continue to feel abandoned and undervalued, and exhausted beyond redemption, and will be forced to leave the sector.

“Our members report that despite the government’s promise of wide-scale aged care reform there has been little or no alleviation of the fundamental staffing crisis across the sector and that many of them feel they can no longer endure the lack of respect afforded to them and those in their care.”

What the ANMF/NSWNMA is seeking from the incoming government:

There are five issues critical for ensuring quality and safety across aged care:

1. Registered nurse presence on site at every nursing home across Australia, 24 hours per day, and across all shifts – day, evening and night shifts.

2. Immediate implementation of a minimum staff time standard for at least 200 minutes of care per resident per day for the average resident, with at least 40 minutes of that staff time provided by a registered nurse.

3. An uplift in legislated minimum care hours to at least 215 minutes of care per resident per day for the average resident, with at least 44 minutes of that staff time provided by a registered nurse from 1 July 2023.

4. Legislated transparency and accountability measures for use of taxpayers’ funding, which guarantee that funding is tied directly to care provision and staffing levels.

5. Wage increases and improvements in conditions for the aged care workforce, commencing with support and a commitment to fund the 25 per cent wage increase being sought in the current work value case before the Fair Work Commission.

Where the parties stand on AGED CARE

Coalition

Following the royal commission’s final report, the federal government announced a $17.7 billion injection of funding into aged care.

The five areas identified by the ANMF as critical to guaranteeing safety and quality across the sector were either ignored or not accepted in full by the government.

The government did acknowledge “the direct link between staffing levels and the quality of aged care for residents”.

Labor

Leader Anthony Albanese has said:

“Fixing aged care will be a central priority of an Albanese Labor government.”

He promised an election policy that will address the priorities set out in the ANMF/NSWNMA aged care pledge (see box).

He also said, “We absolutely need minimum staffing ratios in residential aged care.”

The Greens

• a registered nurse on site 24 hours/day
• the immediate implementation of legislated minimum care hours as 
per the ANMF recommendation
• Legislated transparency and accountability measures
• A 25 per cent wage increase for all nurses and care workers in aged care.