Well designed aged care workforce regulations should lead reform

The Health Services Union (HSU) last week provided a further submission to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety focusing on workforce regulation.

It reflects the HSU’s feedback to the Federal Government’s consultation paper on a proposed aged care worker regulation scheme, in June 2020.

The submission is in addition to the HSU’s substantive workforce submission made in October 2019.

The devastation of COVID-19 to the aged care sector has demonstrated once again that the critical care and support workforce cannot wait for their value to be formally recognised via vastly improved qualification, wage and career structures.

ALL QUOTES ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO HEALTH SERVICES UNION NATIONAL SECRETARY, LLOYD WILLIAMS

“HSU members in aged care are highly-skilled and provide clinical, emotional and social support to older Australians in their care. A well-designed, positive regulation scheme that entrenches recognition of these professionals, via improved training, wages and career pathways, should be a centrepiece of the Royal Commission’s recommendations.”

“The attention paid to this issue in Counsel Assisting’s workforce submissions to the Royal Commission is a promising indication of the direction reform in this area can go.”

“However, it is critical to ensure that the scheme is well-designed and does not place unnecessary cost and administrative burdens, or undue additional stresses on workers.”

“If the aged care interim report and the pandemic is teaching us anything, it’s that we can’t continue to undervalue these workers.”

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