industry & reform migration , but we need to make aged care a place that people really want to come and work . And that requires us addressing career pathways , support for workers and the pay gap . And that ’ s a big piece that was missing from the Royal Commission and the government ’ s response .
Our workers do an extraordinary job . The community , unfortunately , don ’ t value our workers or older people in the way that they should . And I think that ’ s reflected in the pay . I think the Royal Commission called out discrimination really well .
Of course , the aged care workforce is predominantly female and more lowly paid , and I think that it ’ s also a sector in the community that we don ’ t value as much as we should . I ’ m hoping people have seen our workers in a different light through their dedication and sheer commitment and putting themselves at risk through this pandemic .
We absolutely have to find ways of supporting and paying our workers better . And we need to give them better career pathways . So doing that and bringing our work , bringing more workers into the sector is absolutely critical .
I think the other huge issue is sustainability . It always goes back to funding and financing unfortunately . The government ’ s commitment in the last budget was fantastic , but we did not really land a way of funding the sector that ’ s sustainable and that won ’ t be subject to fiscal pressures that the government faces . So we didn ’ t land with a levy . We didn ’ t really look significantly at where the people who can afford to pay should contribute more to the costs , which would make it more sustainable .
And I think the human rights piece is an exciting piece of work , but it will be significant for the sector . I think we all understand what human rights mean at a really high level , at a principal level . But really coming to grips with how that changes practise on a day-to-day basis for a care worker , or for a domestic assistant going into someone ’ s home , or a registered nurse in an aged care facility , is going to be another major piece of work .
How do we create more roles for women in leadership ? It is about supporting and encouraging women . It is about being treated equally . And I will say that there have been times in my five years where I ’ ve been very conscious of the fact that I am a female CEO . I think as a CEO , you shouldn ’ t feel like that . You should just feel that you ’ re a CEO and you should be treated as one .
I ’ ve certainly been in meetings where I ’ ve been conscious that I ’ m spoken to a little bit differently or not taken quite as seriously on some issues . I think that ’ s something the sector needs to really understand and think about in terms of the way we interact as organisations , because women do want to be treated and should be treated equally , but are discouraged if they don ’ t feel that that ’ s the case .
What would you like to see happen as this pandemic and the reform process progresses ? What I really want is for the pandemic to go away . It would be great to get to the point where it is more like the ’ flu , where you can be vaccinated every year and you can be protected and we don ’ t have to go into these long lockdowns . I ’ m particularly concerned about people ’ s mental health and wellbeing .
I really do believe that the overall intent of the reforms to deliver great quality services based on human rights is the right direction . I really want to see us , as a sector , really get to that point . But I also want to make sure that people in aged care look after themselves through the process , because it will be challenging . I want to make sure that people take up every opportunity to contribute , but look after themselves and know that the services that they deliver now are of good quality .
And if we ’ re lucky , we ’ ve all got an older person in our lives that we love . I ’ ve got a mum who ’ s 93 , and I think that ’ s what drives us all . And also , if we ’ re lucky , we will all be older people one day . So getting to the point where the services are fully human-rights-based , I think , is where we all want to be . That ’ s the dedication and commitment that I ’ ve seen the whole sector show through the Royal Commission , to be so open and willing to embrace it .
Looking back on your career , how much progress do you think has been made in the aged care sector ? It ’ s a really interesting question because there are waves of improvements , and there is always reform going on , which is why I think the sector is tired . But I guess the one thing we know is always going to happen is change . It ’ s the one thing you can count on .
I think we have come a long way , but there is still a lot that can be done . I think we have seen change . We have seen residential aged care move to being more supportive of individuals and deliver better quality services , but obviously there ’ s another lift that needs to happen .
We ’ ve seen home care go from being a relatively small part of the sector through to now being quite sophisticated packages of care , and based much more on what the individual needs . Every reform process that we go through delivers some improvements and creates some unexpected and unintended consequences .
Something I think we still need to address as a sector is forms of supported accommodation and housing that are not residential care . Sometimes people don ’ t need to go into residential care , but they can ’ t really stay at home either . So I think there ’ s still a gap in the system about how we support people who can stay at home , or in a new home and live more independently .
So it ’ s always onwards and upwards for the sector . If you keep in your sights very firmly all the time on the fact that this is about making sure people are getting better services , it makes it easy to get through those changes .
What would your advice be for the next CEO ? I ’ m very fortunate that the next CEO is Paul Sadler . He ’ s well known to the aged care sector and he ’ s very knowledgeable . And I think it is about the engagement that we have to have as a sector . No matter how difficult we find it , we have to keep pushing for the changes . But we have to do that in a way that supports our members , because we know that people are tired .
My advice would be to continue on , to keep fighting the good fight and deliver the quality services that we are now , but always with a view to how we can improve it .
My other advice to anybody who ’ s in aged care would be : you do a phenomenal job and it ’ s difficult . So make sure that you ’ re also looking after yourself while you ’ re busy looking after other people or , in my case , working on policy and services that are going to support people better . ■ agedcareinsite . com . au 17