A new Industry Labour Agreement for Aged Care Workers

In 2021, Australia held a Royal Commission in the Aged Care sector which made a raft of recommendations that depend on new workers to ameliorate the sever shortage of aged-care workers. The government calculated the overall shortfall of aged care workers would be 25,437 nurses and care workers in the next financial year, blowing out to 39,738 in 2024-25.

To implement the two key recommendations of the aged care royal commission Australia will require 14,626 new workers in 2023-24 and 25,093 the year after.

The skilled migration program has not provided a solution with few aged care occupations available for state, federal or employer sponsorship as these important occupations considered ‘unskilled’. Anybody that has seen the work of aged-care workers would have to disagree.

The Australian Government has announced a new Industry Labour Agreement to streamline the recruitment of qualified overseas direct care workers for the aged care sector. An Industry Labour Agreement will give access to permanent residency under the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa program. Workers must have at least two years of full time work experience in Australia in a relevant direct care occupation.

Employers can apply for an Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement immediately, with access to the agreement provided to employers who have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant industry union. This collaborative approach across the sector will promote transparency while ensuring support of newly sponsored migrants.

If you are looking for aged care workers for your business, get in touch for a consultation to see how you can take advantage of this new opportunity.