Australia's aged care system sits on a knife edge, with a chronic lack of funding and critical staffing shortfall putting countless aged care homes at risk of closing.
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The system-wide strain is hitting hardest in regional areas, where two-thirds of homes are operating at a loss.
The COVID-19 pandemic played a key role in pushing many homes to the brink, with strict hygiene and care protocols raising the cost of care, and staff burnout - compounded by the lowest pay rates in the care industry - prompting many workers to quit. A recent survey showed one in five aged care workers planned to quit in the next 12 months.
But the underlying issues have been well-known for years.
The Aged Care Royal Commission, which handed down its final report in March 2021, was just one of 20 inquiries into the sector over the past decade, all of which highlighted the same issues: low pay, a lack of nurses, inadequate staffing ratios, and a lack of workforce planning to meet future demand.
The federal government responded with a $17.7 billion plan to fix the sector, but workers have said little has changed for them on the ground.
One of the key planks of the Coalition plan was delivering 80,000 home care packages over two years to take pressure off nursing homes, but as of April this year only 40 per cent had been delivered because there simply weren't enough staff.
Member for Wannon Dan Tehan said the government was committed to persisting with its plan. "We will continue to implement the Royal Commission recommendations and continue to invest to make sure that occurs because that's the best way we can make sure our elderly get the care that they deserve," he said.
After months of criticism for refusing to back a pay rise for aged care workers, aged care services minister Richard Colbeck said last week that the Coalition would fund whatever pay rise the Fair Work Commission recommended.
In January the government announced one-off payments of up to $800 in an effort to placate burned out aged care workers, but an Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation survey released this week showed 70 per cent of workers hadn't received a cent.
Labor candidate Gilbert Wilson said his party was committed to having registered nurses available 24/7 at every aged care home by mid-2023.
After initially refusing to make a 24/7 registered nurse pledge, the Coalition has adopted the commitment, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying the government would meet the target by late 2025.
Federal health department modelling predicts 16,500 new nurses will be required across the country in order to meet the 24/7 registered nurse target for aged care. Both major parties have conceded huge numbers of foreign nurses will have to be brought in to meet the shortfall.
For comparison, in 2020-21 just 4000 registered nurses entered the country.
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