The aged care sector in Australia relies heavily on agency nurses to ensure continuity of care when permanent workers are unwell or unavailable to support care for the elderly. The peak body for Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing (RCSA) recognises the crucial contribution agency workers make in the aged care sector and is a fierce advocate for maintaining flexible employment models.
Agency nurses provide vital services to aged care facilities, residents, workers and the broader community however the sector faces substantial challenges, particularly related to migration and regulatory frameworks. These challenges can hinder its ability to attract and retain a workforce sufficient enough to meet the demands of the sector.
Residential aged care facilities, their residents, and even the families of those in care rely heavily on agency nurses to address short-term staffing needs, support surge demand, and provide specialised services. Agencies can respond quickly to shift requests from providers, ensuring that the continuum of care is rarely broken. Without this support, there would be a catastrophic impact on the residents of aged care facilities.
Agency work also offers aged care nurses a level of flexibility unavailable in permanent roles. Unlike permanent work, where rosters and hours are set by the aged care provider, agency nurses can choose their work schedules, helping them to manage their personal lives, support their mental health, and avoid burnout. Agency nurses often earn more per hour than their permanently employed counterparts, making it an attractive employment option.
Data collected by RCSA from a survey of its nursing and care member agencies highlights the scale of agency work in aged care. On average, RCSA members place approximately 5,400 workers in the aged care sector weekly, but that number is likely much higher. These workers include nurses, personal care workers, allied health professionals, medical practitioners, and ancillary staff. The majority are placed in residential aged care facilities, particularly in metropolitan areas, highlighting the essential role agencies play in ensuring adequate staffing levels in both residential and in-home care settings.
Despite huge demand for nursing and caring staff, the aged care sector is grappling with significant workforce challenges. The sector's reliance on migrant workers is well known, with around 30 percent of the aged care workforce comprised of migrants. However, increasingly challenging immigration policies and changes to industrial relations laws have created substantial barriers to workforce flow.
One such barrier currently under the microscope are changes relating to the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, which to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Union before they can access the tool. The Labour Agreement is supposed to streamline the hiring of overseas workers but is burdened by the political inclusion of the MOU requirement, which has created administrative complexity and a wariness from employers to avail themselves of it.
Members of the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) report that the costs and complexities involved in sponsoring migrant workers can be prohibitive. RCSA agrees that there is a pressing need for timely reviews and policy adjustments to make this agreement more effective and responsive to the sector's needs.
“The current system is overburdened with red tape and it creates unnecessary barriers to employing vital staff for the aged care industry.” RCSA CEO Charles Cameron said.
“We need to ensure that streamlined approaches are accessible and don’t contain deterrents to their use, such as the formal inclusion of a union as part of the process. Their priority should be around needs of providers, workers and residents,” he adds. RCSA also believes reviewing the increasingly complex and challenging administrative requirements of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is another way Government could consider reducing the barriers for employers that exist in accessing immigration measures to support the aged care sector.
According to Cameron, “It’s not just about reducing complexity but also about providing
real support for migrant workers. We need to ensure that policies are in place to facilitate their settlement and success, particularly in regional areas where their contributions are most needed.”
The current migration system is fraught with red tape, making it challenging for aged care providers to recruit and retain migrant workers. The process of securing a visa is often slow, costly, and bureaucratically cumbersome. For example the labour market testing, which is a requirement for many skilled visas, is a time-consuming process that adds another layer of complexity to the system. RCSA and other stakeholders have advocated for the abandonment of labour market testing in favour of a more streamlined approach guided by the expertise of Jobs and Skills Australia and the Ministerial Advisory
Council on Skilled Migration.
Further compounding these challenges is the lack of a coordinated approach between the immigration and aged care functions of the Government. For instance, while the introduction of a UK-style Health and Care Workforce Visa for registered
nurses could significantly alleviate workforce shortages, such a policy requires careful coordination and consultation with industry stakeholders to ensure it meets the specific needs of the aged care sector.
The cost of staff continues to be a significant challenge for the aged care sector. While the Government has committed to funding minimum pay increases for the sector, at the same time it has unilaterally imposed a 20 per cent uplift in minimum salary for agency nurses coming from overseas, which it will provide no support to facilities to meet.
“This recent change has been made without consultation and will result in agency nurses from overseas being required under law to earn 20 per cent more than directly hired workers that work alongside them in a facility,” said Charles.
“Not only does this concept fly in the face of the Government’s recent move to introduce ‘Same Job, Same Pay’ requirements in the rest of the labour market, it also creates an unfunded, 20 per cent pay increase for overseas agency nurses over and above the 23 per cent pay increase recently granted by the Fair Work Commission.”
“Businesses are already battling rising costs in a tough economic climate. This new requirement will make it almost impossible for the aged care sector to fund costs associated with overseas agency nurses. If staffing firms can’t affordably access nurses from overseas, lack of supply will likely push up the cost of domestic agency nurses, increasing wages beyond Government compensation levels and leaving facilities to fund the shortfall.”
“We must rethink our approach to aged care workforce planning. Governments are imposing barriers to workforce access for the sector, by way of Union MOUs and increasing the cost of agency nurses, by way of a 20 per cent higher salary requirement. The MOU and 20 per cent salary increase requirements are not necessary and create barriers at a time we should be prioritising the support of a stable, high-quality
care environment that benefits everyone.”
The aged care sector is at a critical juncture. With an aging population and increasing demand for services, the need for a flexible and responsive workforce has never been greater. Agency nurses have and always will play a pivotal role in filling staffing gaps, providing quality care, and ensuring that aged care facilities can continue to operate effectively and safely.
Charles Cameron, RCSA CEO
03 9663 0555
1300 727 504
