PC seeks feedback on role of indirect aged care workers
Should digital employment platforms be restricted in the aged care sector? The Productivity Commission wants to hear stakeholder views.

The Productivity Commission has released an issues paper on the role that digital platform workers, independent contractors and agency workers should play in the aged care sector – and whether they belong there at all.
It forms part of the consultation for the PC inquiry announced last month looking into the effects policies and procedures to preference the direct employment of workers would have on the sector – including on care quality and provider viability.
In an issues paper released this week, the PC says there’s an increased use of independent contractors and digital platforms, driven largely by the growth of the NDIS and consumer driven care under the Home Care Package program. However, the prevalence of workers from these platforms in the aged care sector remains relatively low.
The paper also notes that the final report of the aged care royal commission expressed concerns about the indirect employment of aged care workers, citing quality of care for consumers and working conditions for employees. And the recommendation of Royal Commissioner Lynelle Briggs calling for policies and procedures that preference direct employment above agencies and contractors.
The aged care employment inquiry responds to this recommendation. The inquiry into the sudden collapse of aged care services at Earle Haven on the Gold Coast led by Kate Carnell also called better oversight of commercial and sub-contracting arrangements.
Low numbers
The proportion of agency workers and independent contractors in the aged care sector is currently low, the issues paper says. The 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census suggests only 3 per cent of the total aged care workforce were agency or subcontractor workers that year, and agency or subcontractor workers accounted for just 1 per cent of the workforce.
ABS data also suggests the use of agency workers and independent contractors in caring roles is low. However, the paper says this could increase in the future, “particularly in response to the growing demand for aged care, increasing funding for home care and its potential to provide more flexible care to cater for diverse needs at lower administrative cost”.
The paper notes that women are more likely than men to provide caring services through digital platforms and workers typically don’t do many hours, indicating they are doing it to supplement existing incomes.

Pros and cons
The paper says indirect employment platforms could potentially provide a range of benefits for aged care providers, workers and recipients, including filling short-term staffing gaps, offering more choice for consumers and increased flexibility for workers. Digital platforms could also help bring new workers to the aged care sector.
On the downside, independent contractors don’t have the same protections as employees, and while there’s an expectation that approved providers are responsible for the care delivered by independent contractors or platform workers, this is yet to be tested in law.
The paper also notes a lack of opportunity for training and skills development for indirect workers. “An expansion of on-demand and short-term work could worsen existing skills shortages because workers in this environment may have fewer opportunities for training and development,” the paper says.
The PC also wants feedback from stakeholders “about the merits of effectively restricting the use of indirect employment in aged care relative to other approaches that could ameliorate any negative impacts of indirect employment.”
Submissions are due by April 29 with a draft report to be released by June and a final report handed to the government by September.
This story first appeared in Community Care Review
I have owned and managed a UK home Care Agency for over four decades and from 2010 to the Covid lock down worked regularly a couple of months a year in Australia.
My care workers have always been contractors, i.e self employed. Their care qualifications have to mirror those for employed care workers , updated on a regular basis, insurance, criminal record checks, etc.
As a 24/7 care provider, our cost to our clients is under half of what the same service can be provided by using employed care workers. Wages are high, care staff shortages are minimal and to date we can say that we have provided over dozens of millions of hours of care support to satisfied customers, both private fee payers and the statutory sectors. Aging and disabled Australians could benefit from a similar model.