By Tom McIlroyandMichael Read
Aged care providers will be able to access priority visa processing to help fill growing workforce gaps, as the Albanese government implements the first step in a new model for skilled workers in the sector.
Immigration Minister Andrew Gilesannounced on Monday the first aged care labour agreement with private provider Curtin Heritage in Perth. It is set to deliver 570 staff over five years, after a memorandum of understanding signed with the United Workers Union.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says the deal will enable visas for 500 aged care staff.Alex Ellinghausen
The new fast track for foreign workers is in response to crippling shortages in low-paid care sectors, with 5 per cent of aged care facilities unable to find enough staff to meet Labor’s pledge to have a registered nurse in each home 24/7.
Last month’s release of animmigration system reviewby former public service chief Martin Parkinson recommended creating pathways to bring in low-paid care sector workers, with monitoring because of the potential for exploitation.
It said Australia lacked an explicit migration policy focusing on lower-paid workers and that the country had “piecemeal approach that is not meeting our needs or protecting vulnerable migrant workers”.
Curtin will be given access to priority visa processing and a two-year pathway to permanent residency for prospective workers.
Aged care providers that sign an agreement with their relevant trade union would have access to the new scheme, designed to increase recruitment and retention in the critical workforce, the minister said.
“This labour agreement is proof that collaboration between unions, business and governments is fundamental to addressing key skills shortages in the short term,” he said in a statement.
“The swift processing of this labour agreement reaffirms the government’s commitment to addressing skill shortages within the care sector.”
“The delivery of this labour agreement is only possible because of the Albanese government’s commitment to slash the visa backlog of almost one million and get our migration system working again in the interest of all Australians.”
The agreement would help ensure 200 minutes of care per day for aged care residents by October, which is in line with the recent royal commission’s recommendations, said Carolyn Smith, the United Workers Union national director for aged care, and state secretary for Western Australia.
“We have always said in relation to visa workers, it’s no good introducing new workers who face the same workplace issues of low pay and too much work as those currently facing existing workers and I am hopeful the scheme will prevent this exploitation,” Ms Smith said.
Curtin Heritage Living managing director David Cox described the new arrangement as a way to access a more diverse and skilled workers to provide the best possible care.
“From an industry perspective, we believe this agreement is a positive step toward addressing a critical shortage of skilled workers and will hopefully offer some relief to other aged care service providers,” he said.
The Productivity Commission has also previously recommended a pilot visa program for workers in industries like disability and aged care, warning shortages of labour are “endemic” and are affecting the quality of care for vulnerable people.
“It has proven particularly difficult to attract workers in aged care, an issue that is likely to intensify given policy initiatives to raise staff-to-resident ratios, accompanied by the pressures of an ageing population,” the commission said.
In the first major review of the immigration system since the 1990s, the government’s response to the Parkinson reviewwill involve an overhaul of the outdated points testused to select permanent skilled migrants and the dumping of requirements for employers to advertise jobs locally before hiring an overseas migrant.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/priority-visa-processing-for-aged-care-workers-20230515-p5d8e2
