Aged Care Insite Issue 92 | December 2015 - January 2016 | Page 4
news
Workforce status under scrutiny
Parliament plans inquiry into
what staff will face as the
population continues to age.
A
parliamentary inquiry will
examine the challenges facing
the aged-care workforce as the
population continues to age.
Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said the
sector faces challenges such as struggling
to attract and retain workers. The inquiry
will look at how government at all levels
can ensure the sector grows alongside
the ageing population, Siewert said.
The terms of reference also stated that
the committee would assess aspects
including the “impact of the government’s
cuts to the Aged Care Workforce Fund”
as well as “the interaction of aged-care
workforce needs with employment by
the broader community services sector,
including workforce needs in disability,
health and other areas, and increased
employment as the National Disability
Insurance Scheme rolls out”.
Worker remuneration and other factors
affecting aged-care staff, such as working
environment, staffing ratios, education and
training, skills development and career paths,
will also be examined by the Senate Standing
Committees on Community Affairs.
The terms of reference also stated that
the inquiry would examine: the particular
aged-care workforce challenges in
regional towns and remote communities;
government policies at the state, territory
and Commonwealth level that have an
impact on the workforce; international
examples from which Australia might learn;
and the role of government in providing a
co-ordinated strategic approach for
the sector.
The challenges of creating “a culturally
competent and inclusive aged care
workforce to cater for the different
care needs of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples, culturally and
linguistically diverse groups and lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
people” will also come under the
committee’s scope.
The inquiry is due to report its findings
by June 30 next year, with the cut-off for
submissions set for