CEDA's duty of care: is a new visa really the answer to the aged care worker shortage?
CEDA's "Duty of Care: How to Fix the Aged Care Worker Shortage" report calls for more action to address Australia's aged care workforce shortage. Its main recommendation is the creation of an "essential skills visa" for aged care, targeting key occupations that sit below current wage thresholds. That is a response to the estimated 400,000 additional workers the sector will need by 2050.
The counter-argument
Anne Howe from Macquarie University pushes back on that conclusion. While a new visa category may seem like the right response, she points out that previous migration schemes have failed to move the dial on the overall aged care workforce.
What the data actually says
- One-third of the workforce is born overseas, in line with the general population
- 86% are either Australian-born, citizens, or permanent residents
- Most overseas-born workers have already been in Australia for six or more years
- 95% of the workforce already holds qualifications in care fields
So where does the extra capacity come from?
There will still be a need for overseas attraction. There is also a more immediate option: give existing part-time workers more hours.
About 30% of personal care workers say they want additional hours. Based on their current median 20-hour work week, meeting that demand could increase workforce capacity by 50%, without recruiting a single new worker.
Where do you sit?
Is a new visa the answer the industry needs, as CEDA proposes, or is there a more local answer still waiting to be unlocked?
At Hive Talent, we help NDIS and aged care providers build workforce strategies that cover both recruitment and retention. If this is the pressure you're under, we'd like to hear how you're approaching it.
