Report shows providers’ concerns over reforms
Only half of aged care providers think new requirements related to royal commission reforms will support quality and safety, ACCPA’s inaugural State of the Sector survey finds.
Over two-thirds of aged care providers feel transition timeframes for new reforms are too fast while five in six say new requirements will put a greater strain on the sector.
And just over half of providers agree new requirements resulting from the government’s response to the royal commission will support quality of care and safety (53 per cent).
That’s according to Aged and Community Care Providers Association’s inaugural State of the Sector – which is based on an online survey conducted SEC Newgate Research with 191 organisations. Of those 125 provide residential aged care, 135 home aged care and 81 retirement living services.
“Providers fully support well designed reform, but that reform must be at a manageable pace and not exacerbate already existing problems,” ACCPA chief executive officer Tom Symondson said.
Survey participants represent the breadth of the sector, according to the report, including not-for-profit (142), for-profit (38), government-run (11), metropolitan (121), regional (67) and remote (3) organisations from ACCPA’s membership.
The research also involved in-depth interviews with five participants from different provider types.
It found – consistent with well-documented pressures – providers’ concerns over costs, funding and workforce remain high.
Among the results, more than nine in 10 providers are concerned about increasing costs related to service delivery (97 per cent) and government funding under current policy (92 per cent).
Just over a quarter of providers are confident they could attract capital for refurbishments or new builds (28 per cent) while one in five small providers lacked confidence in their ability to continue providing services in the next 12 months.
“It’s critical that funding is sufficient to deliver care and to attract investment so we can build for the future,” said Mr Symondson.
“These responses from providers show even more clearly that the Australian Government’s response to the Aged Care Taskforce as part of the new Aged Care Bill is essential to making the aged care sector more sustainable.”
Among the workforce findings, just over a third of providers say they are confident they can recruit staff to meet care minute requirements coming into effect in October 2024 (36 per cent) while almost two-thirds have been unable to access the workers required under the current migration requirements (64 per cent).
Mr Symondson said providers were feeling the brunt of worker shortages and the results showed that current migration settings were clearly not the answer.
Providers are not confident about the future with only half considering the aged care system is on the right track (51 per cent) and seven in 10 concerned about the nation’s readiness to support a growing population.
The report includes a list of priorities for the sector care including:
- reform transition times of six-12 months
- targeted support to meet care minute targets and wage increases
- funding measures that support capital works and thin markets
- building a sustainable local workforce and reducing barriers for skilled migrants
- funding sufficient to deliver care.
Mr Symondson said the report came at a critical juncture in the sector’s its transformation journey.
“The demand for aged care is also growing, highlighting the urgent need to create a system that delivers high quality care now and into the future.”
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