Conversations with aged care providers at the close of 2022 identified four key themes that will take a front seat in Australia’s aged care sector in 2023 – the fundamentals of the sector (funding, regulation, governance), labour shortage and recruitment strategies, technology, and housing and aged care communities
Outrages around quality care shortfalls, COVID-19 outbreaks in residential aged care facilities, coupled with the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, have unfortunately painted a bad picture of the Australian aged care sector. This has affected the number of workers in the field and resulted in poor uptake of nursing degrees. That’s why many providers are relying on the approaching Federal Budget for investment to drive better outcomes in aged care by supporting its predominant capital – the workforce.
While the nation’s attention is fixed firmly on how we care for an ageing population, mergers, acquisitions, divestments, restructures and consolidations are creating imperceptible yet significant shifts in the landscape of aged care.