Guidance needed in aged care to improve help for grieving families
Government, researchers and aged care staff need to urgently come together to establish a formal approach to the grief and loss experienced by families in aged care, a Flinders University-led review has argued. The study reviewed 35 papers examining the grief, loss, and bereavement experience of family caregivers of those entering, living and dying in residential aged […]
ANMF calls on government to swiftly implement aged care pay rises
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has called on the federal government to implement final pay increases for aged care workers, as determined by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), by 30 June. The FWC handed down its Stage 3 decision in March, determining that direct care workers, including Assistants in Nursing (AINs)/Personal Care Workers […]
Federal Budget 2024: ANMF welcomes funding for health and aged care
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has welcomed the Albanese Government’s $8.5 billion in last night’s 2024-25 Budget for health, including $2.8 billion to strengthen Medicare and $2.2 billion for aged care to continue implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations. Key Budget wins include new Medicare rebates for midwives to provide longer consultations before […]
Government seeks to delay aged care wage increases
The federal government has requested landmark pay rises for aged care workers ordered by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) be phased over the next two years, citing concerns including that “large one-off wage increases” could fuel employment shortages across other sectors. Last month, the FWC awarded an historic wage rise of up to 28.5% for […]
Aged Care nurses visit Parliament to call out providers
Around 60 aged care nurses and carers from across the country have travelled to Canberra to address the ongoing failures by providers to comply with the federal government’s key aged care reforms. The group is standing together to call out providers, many of whom are proving they can’t be trusted to lift the standard of […]
Wage case recognises historic undervalued work of aged care nurses
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has welcomed the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) further recognition that the work of aged care workers has been historically undervalued in its Stage 3 decision for the aged care industry work value case announced today. The FWC has concluded that, for ‘work value reasons’, award rates for direct […]
Government rules out new tax or levy to fund aged care
The federal government has ruled out imposing a new levy or tax to fund aged care costs, as well as steering clear of the means-testing treatment of the family home, at today’s release of the Aged Care Taskforce’s Final Report. The taskforce, chaired by Aged Care Minister Anika Wells, was established to examine how to […]
Nursing, midwifery, and care worker workforce reform
Nursing and midwifery workforce reform in Australia is essential for adapting to changing healthcare needs, improving patient outcomes, addressing health disparities, and ensuring that the right number of skilled professionals are empowered and enabled to provide timely and high-quality care. It demands strategic planning, improved education, and policy changes to help build a sustainable workforce […]
Aged care reform
Following years of neglect, significant aged care reforms in 2023 marked a turning point in the nation’s commitment to ensuring the delivery of safe and high-quality care for our elderly Australians. The Albanese Government implemented sweeping reforms across the sector, highlighted by pivotal legislation mandating the presence of a registered nurse 24/7 in every nursing […]
Removing ENs from aged care would have detrimental effects on safe and high-quality care
What would happen if the number of enrolled nurses, or shifts, were reduced in a nursing home? According to the ANMF’s National Aged Care Survey 2023, released last October, such a move would create more work for registered nurses, increase workloads for AINs/PCAs/PCWs, and result in serious detrimental effects in the provision of safe and […]