Home celebrates newly qualified foreign workers
The first cohort of care staff from Nauru under the PALM scheme are work ready, while RFBI is talking with the Fijian government about increasing its workforce capacity.
Aged care facility Lake Cathie Manor on the New South Wales mid-north coast has held a graduation ceremony for 10 staff members from Nauru who have completed their training program in Australia and will stay on to help fill gaps in the local care workforce.
The group, who arrived at the facility in July to fill workforce shortage gaps, are the first cohort of workers from Nauru to be mobilised to Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility, or PALM, scheme.
They have been recruited by employer HealthX as part of the Aged Care Expansion program, which is a pilot initiative of the PALM scheme involving nine Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste. ACE aims to help regional communities across Australia fill workforce shortages where local care staff are hard to find.
Having now attained their Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing), the 10 workers will remain working at the facility for up to four years where they will help ensure consistency and continuity of care for residents, further develop their skills and send their incomes home.
Among the cohort, Carney Maaki said she was grateful for the opportunity to work for HealthX.
“We are all supported very well and have been given many opportunities to gain new skills and qualifications which allow us to financially support our families back home,” she said.
HealthX chief executive officer James Scott said: “Having these newly qualified workers means having a more versatile and skilled workforce, which can reduce the workload on existing staff and improve the quality of care delivered to residents.”
Aged care providers, particularly in rural and regional areas, are facing critical workforce shortages despite wage increases, he said.
“The sector continues to struggle with attracting and retaining enough qualified staff, leaving many facilities operating under significant strain,” Mr Scott said.
Frank Price, who is chief executive officer of NSW and ACT aged care Royal Freemasons’ Benevolent Institution, agrees on the struggles in attracting staff locally.
“RFBI recognises that the recent award increases will have some positive impact, but that does not address the ageing registered nurse workforce and the insufficient number of trained replacements.
“At the same time, the number of internationally qualified nurses willing to relocate to Australia has a natural cap,” said Mr Price.
Overseas recruitment not sustainable solution
Mr Price said the failed policies of successive Australian governments have led to the current need to recruit internationally to satisfy the sector’s demand for nurses.
In addition to staff sourced locally, RFBI has recruited 106 internationally qualified nurses from Fiji to work in the organisation’s residential care homes.
The program includes RFBI funding the upgrade of these workers’ Fijian nursing qualifications to meet the standard for registration with AHPRA. To date, RFBI has recruited 166 staff from overseas.
While the organisation is grateful for staff members who have moved to Australia to work with RFBI, Mr Price said international recruitment was not a sustainable solution.
“There are challenges and costs associated with bringing nurses to Australia, including supporting their integration into the workforce and community,” Mr Price said.
There are also ethical and moral issues related to depleting the nursing workforce in their home country, he said.
RFBI is in discussion with the Fijian government to develop a plan to increase capacity within their aged care services. If executed, RFBI will provide on the ground training for their staff, financial assistance to support food costs, and establish a governance structure and quality system in line with Australian standards.
“By lending our aged care expertise we hope to positively impact the lives of elderly Fijians, benefiting families, carers and their staff members,” Mr Price said.
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