Bupa welcomes Federal Government Support on Aged Care Wage Increase
Higher wages are fundamental to supporting the aged care workforce and we welcome the Federal Government’s commitment to fund the outcome of the Fair Work Commission’s decision.
The two major underlying challenges in aged care remain a severe workforce shortage and inadequate funding levels, which must be addressed to deliver the quality of care that all Australians expect.
Aged care is about people – the residents and the teams that care for them – and having the best people working in the aged care sector and appropriately compensating them for their work.
Yet, it has never been harder to find and retain people in the aged care sector. Especially as a registered nurse can earn more working at a local hospital and a carer can earn more under NDIS doing the same work, or in industries such as retail, hospitality, or general business support roles, that are less physically and emotionally demanding.
An increase in aged care wages will support efforts to improve recruitment and retention of aged care employees both now and in the long-term, helping deliver higher standards of care for older Australians.
We commend the Australian Government for demonstrating its commitment to addressing this workforce challenge and committing to fund the cost of increased wages.
