October 9, 2024

australian labor party

Labour agreement introduced to strengthen aged care sector

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Unions and the federal government have developed an opportunity for aged care providers to sponsor direct care workers through skilled visas, in an attempt to address the aged care skills shortage.

The new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement aims to improve recruitment and retention within the aged care sector.

The agreement offers additional incentives to attract workers, including a faster two-year pathway to permanent residency.

To access it, providers must enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), by negotiating directly with unions.

The government acknowledged the role migration can play in alleviating workforce pressures in a media release and reiterated the need to invest in skills and training for the sector in response to the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission.

Expanding the aged care workforce is crucial to increase care minutes, enhance care systems, and ensure the safety and dignity of older Australians. Direct care roles in the aged care sector are in national shortage, as defined by the Skills Priority List.

Providers can apply for an Aged Care Labour Agreement immediately, with the Department of Home Affairs prioritising applications.

This comes off the back of the government’s announcement of a historic 15% pay rise to aged care workers’ wages from 1 July this year.

Significant announcement on aged care wages expected from federal government

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Register now to stay informed on upcoming changes and join the discussion 

An announcement from the federal government is expected regarding the significant wage increase of aged care workers.  

This news comes after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently made the decision to increase aged care Award wages by 15%, a correction addressing the long-standing issue of undervaluation in the aged care sector.  

This is a huge step forward after union members spent two years fighting for significant wage increases for all aged care workers. 

To keep members informed about these changes and their implications, members are invited to register for notifications. 

Once the announcement is made, we will host a webinar alongside other unions to discuss the details of the pay increase. Register now and keep an eye on your emails for an invite over the coming week. 

Nurses for nurses: Why a National Nurse and Midwife Health Service matters 

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The Federal Labor party has announced that, if they win government, they will implement a National Nurse and Midwife Health Service (NNMHS). This is a significant announcement aimed at improving the mental health of nurses and midwives across the country. 

But what’s it about, and why do we need it? 

Nurses and midwives’ mental health is a MASSIVE issue 

As COVID restrictions ease, there is still no end in sight for the nurses and midwives who are looking after thousands of Australians across a range of settings every day.  

Many nurses and midwives are close to breaking point – one survey of 7,800 Australian health care workers found 40 per cent had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is estimated that one in five frontline workers, including nurses, are considering quitting their job because of the pandemic.  

The long established and successful Nursing and Midwifery Health Program in Victoria has been inundated with calls from nurses struggling with their mental health and wellbeing after working beyond exhaustion. But for nurses and midwives working in other parts of the country, a service like this isn’t available.  

Australia is already facing dire nursing shortages – we can’t afford to lose more nurses because of unnecessary burn-out. 

What is the National Nurse and Midwife Health Service? 

Under an Albanese Labor Government, nurses and midwives around the country who are concerned about their stress levels, feel exhausted or anxious, or who are struggling with their mental health, will be able to access a range of personalised and professional support services to help them manage their challenges.  

Federal Labor will set up the NNMHS across  States and Territories to provide free, confidential and independent support, delivered by nurses for nurses, with information, advice, treatment and specialist referrals. 

Local services will be based on the highly successful Nursing and Midwifery Health Program model already available in Victoria. Services will deliver holistic, case-managed support with a focus on early intervention so nurses and midwives can avoid unnecessary burn-out. 

The program will be open to enrolled and registered nurses, midwives and students. Federal Labor will work with the Nursing and Midwifery Health Program in Victoria and nurses and midwives around the country to establish services nationwide.  

Labor will commit $18.7 million to the National Health Service that will help keep nurses and midwives in the job, caring for Australians. 

How is it different to EAP? 

Most nurses and midwives in NSW have access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which can assist with mental health support. However, the NNMHS goes beyond this to provide a specialised service to nurses and midwives. 

For example, NNMHS is run for nurses by nurses, meaning that those that whoever you speak to will have experience with the issues you may be dealing with. This is unlike the EAP program, which provides general support and is run by counsellors working across a range of sectors. 

Further, access to NNMHS is undertaken independently of your employer. This means that your employers aren’t privy to how many people access the service, or who may be accessing it. This is particularly important for nurses and midwives who may need to utilise the service while facing disciplinary action.  

Finally, the NNMHS goes beyond counselling services. Like Victoria’s program, the NNMHS will provide holistic and ongoing mental health support throughout your career – not just when you’re at your wits end. They can also provide specialist referrals where you need it.  

But it’s not ratios! 

That’s absolutely right. However, Anthony Albanese has announced the implementation of minimum staffing in aged care – the one area that they can mandate this for. Ratios in public hospitals are determined by state government, and we’ll have to keep the pressure up to achieve this important reform.  

You can find out more about the NNMHS here. 

Albanese promises our elderly hope and respect

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Opposition leader makes aged care the centrepiece of ALP federal election policy in his budget reply speech.

In January Opposition leader Anthony Albanese signed the ANMF/NSWNMA pledge to support positive reform in aged care.

As The Lamp goes to print he has built on that pledge with a concrete aged care policy that will be a pillar of the party’s election manifesto.

Albanese has committed an ALP government to mandate staffing ratios by introducing, in law, requirements for minimum care hours in nursing homes and to fund real wage increases for all aged care workers.

With a delegation of 10 ANMF aged care members watching on in Federal Parliament, he announced that, if elected, an ALP government would implement the critical recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

These recommendations required a registered nurse on site 24/7 in residential care with a mandated minimum of 215 minutes of care per resident per day.

They were recommendations that the Morrison government chose to ignore in its response to the Commission’s final report.

Labor will support significant pay increases in aged care

The ALP has also pledged support for significant pay increases for aged care workers.

The ANMF is party to a case before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that is pushing for a 25 per cent pay increase for aged care workers. This was another reform advocated by the Royal Commission into Aged Care.

Anthony Albanese, as part of the ALP’s election policy, has pledged to respect the decision of the FWC and to fully fund it.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler welcomed the opposition’s policy announcement.

“We have known what the real problems in aged care are for years, but despite dozens of reports, inquiries, investigations and even a Royal Commission all saying the same thing, no one as been prepared to address these core problems,” she said.

“After years of inaction, we may finally have a plan to fix the core problems underlining the crisis in aged care.”

A stark difference between the parties on aged care

Annie Butler says there is now a stark difference between the two main political parties on aged care policy.

“The Morrison Government was given a road map for reform more than a year ago by its own Royal Commission but failed to act on the Commission’s critical recommendations. Instead of overseeing desperately needed improvements, in the year that has elapsed, the Government has overseen a deepening crisis across the sector.

In announcing his party’s policy Anthony Albanese said: “The global pandemic and a Royal Commission have confirmed what so many Australians already knew – our aged care system is in crisis.”

“We’ve all been chilled by stories of unforgivable neglect. Maggots in wounds. People going days without fresh air, a shower, or a change of clothes. Stories of residents lying on the floor, crying out in pain, and nobody is there to help them,” he said.

“It’s no coincidence that COVID swept through some aged care facilities with such deadly force – because for far too long the Liberals have turned a blind eye to operators who put profit ahead of the people in their care.”

He said not only would a Labor government implement the necessary changes to reform the sector it would put in place strict measures of accountability on providers.

“I am determined to see that every single dollar of that investment goes to better care for people.

“We will make residential care providers report – in public and in detail – what they are spending money on. The days of residents going without decent food and clean clothes will come to an end.”

The pillars of Labor’s election policy on aged care

  • 24 hour registered nurse care in every nursing home
  • A mandated minimum 215 minutes of care per resident per day
  • Funding real wage increases for aged care workers
  • Ensuring accountability across the sector
  • Mandated standards for nutrition in nursing homes.

MPs call on Morrison Government to act on mandated nursing levels in aged care

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The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) commends Dr Helen Haines, the Independent Member for Indi, for putting forward a Private Member’s Motion in Federal Parliament today, calling on the Morrison Government to commit to one of the key recommendations of the Aged Care Royal Commission: by ensuring at least one registered nurse is on-site in all nursing homes 24/7.

Federal Secretary Annie Butler said the ANMF was deeply disappointed that the Government had so far delayed action on fixing the dangerously inadequate staffing levels in nursing homes – the cause of so much pain and suffering for older Australians.

“The nation was horrified by the Royal Commission’s shocking discovery of widespread neglect and systemic failings across the aged care sector, which is why we find it hard to believe that the Government hasn’t responded to the Royal Commission’s most important recommendations to fix aged care. Unfortunately, with no national laws to guarantee appropriate ratios of qualified nursing staff and aged care staff, the suffering of our elderly will continue. Surely, the Government understands that,” Ms Butler said today.

“The ANMF commends Dr Haines for holding the Government to account and standing-up for the older members of our community, by asking why the Government hasn’t addressed the crucial issues affecting the sector, including mandated staffing, workforce training and retention, improved aged care services for rural and regional Australia and transparency in aged care providers’ fees and charges.”

Ms Butler said the ANMF and its members were also encouraged by the long-list of ALP and Independent MPs who had supported Dr Haines’ Private Motion on aged care.

Dr Haines told the Parliament: “Having a nurse on-site not only improves the care of residents, which is incredibly complex care – pain, wound, diabetes, mental health, cognitive, palliative care management – it also supports the carer work teams with timely advice and expert help.”

Ms Kearney, a former nurse, said: “Having a registered nurse and staff and skills ratios is important. I am sick of the stories of neglect. I am sick of the penny pinching. Even as we speak and despite a Royal Commission, there is a list of major providers cutting hours and trimming their rosters.”

Cancer care plan a ‘game changer’ 

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Organisations representing cancer sufferers, public hospitals and medical specialists have applauded Labor’s $2.3 billion cancer treatment package. Here’s what these organisations had to say.

Healthcare and Hospitals Association

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) hailed Labor’s $2.3 billion Medicare Cancer Plan as a “bold investment” and “a real game changer”.

AHHA is the national peak body for public and not-for-profit hospitals, primary health networks, and community and primary healthcare services.

AHHA chief executive Alison Verhoeven described Labor’s plan as a much-needed response to the significant costs that confront many cancer patients.

“While the Coalition’s review of the MBS and efforts to improve transparency about the costs of care have been welcome initiatives, the bold investment in cancer care pledged by the Opposition Leader is a real game changer that will potentially benefit the many Australians who are diagnosed with cancer,” she said.

Cancer Council

The Cancer Council of Australia said Labor’s plan had the potential to be the most significant reform in government subsidies for cancer treatment since Labor established Medicare.

Cancer Council CEO, Professor Sanchia Aranda, said Labor’s plan would not only reduce the financial burden, it could also lead to “significant improvements” in clinical outcomes.

She said cancer survival outcomes were significantly worse for Australia’s poorest people.

“The federal Opposition should be commended for such a strong, landmark commitment to reducing the impact and inequities related to cancer, which is likely to directly affect one in two Australians in their lifetime.”

College of Surgeons

Royal Australian College of Surgeons president John Batten said he would “strongly advocate” for all members to sign up to Labor’s new Medicare item number, under which patients would get rebates of up to $150 for consultations – provided the specialists did not charge an out-of-pocket cost.

Mr Shorten said this would raise the bulk-billing rate for cancer specialist consultations to 80 per cent from its current 40 per cent.

College of Radiologists

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) president Dr Lance Lawler said he “applauded” Bill Shorten’s announcement that Labor would significantly increase access to scans for cancer patients.

He said Labor’s investment could “position Australia as a global leader in the quality and appropriate use of imaging for cancer.”

“This is the first time a political party has recognised the unfair and restrictive MRI licensing system and has committed to levelling the playing field for cancer patients.

“Cancer patients will now have a choice of any MRI machine close to where they live.

“We thank the Opposition for listening to the concerns of patients and clinicians and acting to address barriers in Medicare.”

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