The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has launched a major national aged care campaign calling on the federal government to address the country’s deepening aged care crisis.
Unveiled at Parliament House in Canberra this morning, the ‘Australia needs care you can count on’ campaign is calling on the federal government to deliver urgent reforms, including mandated staffing ratios and the prevention of workplace violence and aggression.
The campaign follows the ANMF’s recent national ‘Pulse Check’ survey of frontline aged care workers, which found the sector was still experiencing systemic understaffing, increased workplace violence, cost-cutting and a lack of transparency for billions of dollars in taxpayer funding.
Despite some historic changes following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the ANMF campaign demands further reform across three critical areas to ensure older Australians receive the care they deserve:
- Mandated staffing ratios and skills mix across all shifts to replace the current care minutes system and align with evidence-based benchmarks, delivering higher quality care and mandating a proper framework for aged care providers to meet.
- Preventing workplace violence and aggression by implementing a 10-point plan and person-centred care planning to better protect nurses and care-workers from physical, verbal and emotional violence.
- Accountability and transparency for $25 billion in aged care funding by introducing public reporting of aged care providers’ financial performance and use of public funding.
Speaking at the launch in Canberra alongside NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) Assistant General Secretary, Katrina Bough, Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union (QNMU) Assistant Secretary, Grant Burton, and nurses and care workers from NSW, QLD and Tasmania, ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said the measures would finally fix aged care.
“The ANMF is acting on feedback from thousands of our members in aged care, who have told us systemic issues are continuing to affect the quality of the care they can provide to older Australians in aged care facilities. They’ve told us that aged care is not fixed,” Ms Butler said.
“That’s why we’ve launched the ‘Australia needs care you can count on’ campaign, to secure real, enforceable change that creates a high-performing aged care sector and puts the care of older Australians ahead of providers’ profits. We must ensure nurses and care workers are protected, supported and better resourced in their workplace, to finally have a sector that provides care every older Australian can count on.”
To find out more go to: https://anmf.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-08-07-anmf-aged-care-campaign-report-final.pdf
