Report reveals Australia’s care economy shortfalls

Australia's care economy will be in need of a thousand staff within the next five years, a figure that is expected to double by 2050, a new report found.

National skills commissioner Adam Boyton drew up the 'Care Workforce Labour Market Study’ in March 2021 after the Morrison coalition tasked him to ‘undertake an in-depth study’ of the care economy.

Yet, after the report was finalised and handed over to the employment minister in September that year, Morrison decided to refuse the release.

Now, the updated version has been made available since Monday last by the minister for skills Brendan O’Connor, who is currently having talks with the government about the 31 per cent of occupations in demand for staff.

The National Skills Commission is expecting a shortfall of over 100,000 care workers across the aged, disability and mental health care within five years. By 2050, the care sector will need to fill 212,000 positions.

Over a total of thirty years, the workforce will have to find staff for 531,600 full-time positions, representing a total growth of 99 per cent compared to 2021.

While the figures seem shocking, the writers of the report remain hopeful.

“At the moment, skill shortages and recruitment difficulty exist, but that does not mean demand exceeds supply at a national level,” the report said.

Nevertheless, the question of whether the care sector will be able to attract staff when 95 per cent of its workers are paid below the national average is still in the air.

The unions and government’s plea to the Fair Work Commission to raise aged care workers’ pay by 25 per cent is still in consideration.