Workforce Planning in Aged Care

What is this article about?

As part of a research study commissioned by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety in 2019, it was found that over half (57.6%) of Australians receiving residential aged care were living in facilities deemed to have unacceptable levels of staffing. Furthermore, only 1.3% of aged care residents in Australia were found to be living in facilities demonstrating ‘best-practice’ staffing. Currently, the Department of Health does not set minimum required staffing levels for residential aged care, only stating that the workforce must be ‘sufficient, skilled and qualified’. However, in response to the recommendations made by the Royal Commission Final Report in 2021, the federal government has stated that minimum staff time standards for residential care will become mandatory starting in October 2023 with the introduction of the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) funding model.