The first large scale government report on dementia in Australia was released today to mark the start of Dementia Action Week (September 20-26). Dementia in Australia, carried out by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), is the first ...
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Time’s up on the vaccine mandate: leaders weigh-in
Mandatory vaccinations for aged care staff are set to be enforced tomorrow, Friday 17 September, as union leaders address mounting concerns that over 13,000 staff are yet to receive their first jabs. As of midnight, all aged care employees, including ...
More »We need productivity gains in aged care… but what if the biggest gains make the least profit?
The Intergenerational Report 2021 called for productivity gains in all sectors as the most significant way of securing the economic future of Australia. So, would this also apply to aged care? Well, there’s spiralling demand with a shrinking, poorly paid ...
More »2020 aged care workforce census data released, workforce getting bigger, younger
The findings of the Health Department's 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census have been released and they tell the tale of an increasing, and increasingly younger, workforce. This is the fifth census of its kind, following four previous workforce data collections ...
More »Unfinished business: Experts gather to dissect structural reform
At Macquarie University's first aged care policy forum of 2021, a coalition of experts, industry leaders and stakeholders met to set the agenda of what reforms are needed to drive the sector forward. The presenters met with over 100 members ...
More »‘We don’t want them to have died in vain’: Families push to hasten reform
Amina Schipp began searching for support after a series of unreported falls and a fatal medication error led to the end of her mother's life in 2019. After sharing her story on a private Facebook group, Amina discovered that many ...
More »Pandemic solution threatens to become an endemic problem for aged care: opinion
Social isolation and physical distancing have never looked as good as they have over the past year-and-a-half, proving to be essential tools in limiting the impact of the COVID-19 virus. More recently, much of NSW, Victoria and even occasionally south-east ...
More »ACSA chief talks victories, barriers facing women leaders
Patricia Sparrow, chief executive of Aged Community Services Australia (ACSA), has announced her resignation after five years with the peak organisation. Under her leadership, Sparrow has steered ACSA through its transition into a national body, the royal commission and into ...
More »St Vincent’s chief exec on expansion and the aged care landscape post-royal commission: podcast
St Vincent’s Care Services (SVCS) recently struck a deal to buy three residential aged care facilities previously owned by PresCare. The acquisition – which serves 390 residential aged care beds, with 76 beds in dedicated special care units for residents diagnosed ...
More »A national model to combat financial abuse needed: experts
The nation’s top legal and ageing experts are calling on the commonwealth to enact nationally consistent laws to prevent elder financial abuse. President of the Law Council of Australia Dr Jacoba Bransch QC, convened a national roundtable in July to ...
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