Open letter to the Prime Minister

Excerpts from our letter below.

Dear Prime Minister,

At the start of this pandemic the aged care sector and your government agreed it was a national priority to do all we can to protect older Australians, and the passionate and dedicated people that care for them, safe from the coronavirus.

...

Sadly, two years on and three waves into the pandemic, aged care is in crisis.

Older Australians deserve better. Those who care for them demand better.

We call on your government to do the following:

1. Workforce:

a. immediately lift staff wages as recommended by RC and publicly commit to fully funding the outcome of the FWC work value case process

b. In addition to planned ADF support, immediately address critical staff and skills shortages

2. Operating Costs: immediately increase subsidies paid to services to fund the increase in new operating costs incurred for improved infection prevention and protection measures

3. Resilience: establish the proposed National Aged Care Covid Coordination Centre (NAT-ACCC) in partnership with States/Territory governments and the sector to ensure that aged care services are effectively resourced, enabled and supported to deal with future waves

As the pandemic continues, ensuring the staff on the frontline in aged care are resourced and enabled to effectively care for and protect older Australians is in your hands. As Prime Minister we call on you to work with us to resolve this crisis.

Download a copy of full letter here.