With Australia facing critical shortages of aged care staff, one provider is aiming to boost its workforce after bidding "Bula" to a team from Fiji.
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Bolton Clarke's Rowes Bay and Glendale homes are taking part in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM) which allows eligible Australian businesses to hire workers from nine Pacific islands and Timor-Leste when there are not enough local workers available.
The program aims to help aged care providers secure qualified, long-term staff by supporting PALM scheme workers like Sainaz Bano to complete Australian standard qualifications.
The workers had 16 weeks of training in Fiji with an Australian training provider, Alphacrucis University College, which is one of the first international providers to be recognised and registered to deliver Australian standard qualifications in Fiji.
They will complete their six weeks practical at Rowes Bay and Glendale to achieve their Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) and will work at the homes for the next four years.
Sainaz Bano worked in aged care in Fiji for about a year before being chosen to take the four-month Alphacrucis course, which she started last September.
"After arriving we did a week of orientation in Brisbane - it's been a bit challenging in a totally new environment, but it has been really great to recap on all the knowledge we have learnt so far," she said.
"I have always loved working with older people.
"I'm so excited to meet new people with different backgrounds and cultures - I'm very happy to have been given this opportunity."
The Townsville group is part of a team of 98 trained personal care workers recruited by Bolton Clarke who will be employed at 17 of its homes in regional Queensland and NSW.
"Finding long-term employees is one of the greatest challenges we face in our regional homes," Bolton Clarke Group International Sourcing Manager Sara Allotta said.
"Welcoming these new team members is a win-win, supporting continuity of care for residents and offering training and employment opportunities that can be life-changing for PALM workers."
Australia faces a shortage of at least 110,000 aged care workers by 2030 according to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA).
It said Australia has 240,000 direct aged care workers but needs 17,000 more each year to meet basic standards of care. Direct care workers include personal-care assistants, nurses and allied-health staff.
Its report Duty of care: Aged-care sector running on empty quotes increasing costs, insufficient staff, poor wages (despite recent increases), the cost of living which is deterring people from taking low paid jobs in the aged care industry and lack of available affordable housing for workers.
CEDA chief economist Cassandra Winzar said not enough was being done to fix the problem.
"New mandated staffing levels mean many facilities are operating well below full capacity because they can't get enough workers. Some have closed altogether," she said.
The report found that the lack of capacity in aged care facilities is adding pressure to hospitals. In NSW from December 2021 to June 2022 the number of regional patients awaiting discharge to an aged-care facility nearly tripled.
It also recommended programs like PALM in a bid to remedy the shortages.
Therese Murray
Wordsmith. Senior journalist. Editor. I have a proven track record in helping people and communities solve their problems. My career is all about telling stories.
Wordsmith. Senior journalist. Editor. I have a proven track record in helping people and communities solve their problems. My career is all about telling stories.
