Watchdog takes action against aged care staffing provider

Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority (LHA) has suspended the labour hire licence of aged care staffing agency Barton Care Pty Ltd with immediate effect, citing concerns about worker qualifications, underpayments and risks to aged care residents.

The agency supplies hundreds of nurses, carers and support workers to aged care facilities across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

The regulator said the suspension follows an investigation involving site visits, document reviews and discussions with company management. The LHA said it formed the view that Barton Care had engaged in a range of serious breaches, including underpaying workers, altering payslips and employing workers whose aged care qualifications had previously been cancelled by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

Acting Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner Michelle Osborne said immediate action was necessary.

“We took the extraordinary step to suspend Barton Care’s licence to put an immediate stop to their potentially dangerous conduct,” she said.

“We will consider Barton Care’s response and make a final decision on licence cancellation, but the harms here are so serious that immediate action was clearly necessary.”

The regulator alleged the company altered payslips to conceal when student visa holders were working beyond permitted hours and paid some workers below minimum rates under the Aged Care Award. It also raised concerns about workplace health and safety systems and documentation.

A key factor in the suspension was the regulator’s finding that many workers’ qualifications were invalid. It found that almost 70 per cent of the Barton Care staff qualifications it reviewed had been issued by training organisations whose registrations were later cancelled by ASQA.

In one case, a worker allegedly obtained an aged care qualification just nine days after arriving in Australia, despite similar qualifications typically taking six to nine months to complete.

The LHA said the potential impact on the care of vulnerable aged care residents warranted urgent intervention, consequently it has also issued Barton Care with a notice of intention to cancel its licence. The company has 14 days to respond before a final decision is made.

Victorian aged care providers affected by the suspension have been notified, while impacted workers have been referred to the Migrant Workers Centre for support.

The matter has also been referred to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the Australian Skills Quality Authority.

“We encourage anyone with concerns about harms to workers or vulnerable persons caused by labour hire practices to report via our Report a Problem tool,” Ms Osborne said.

Barton Care has been contacted for comment.