LASA Q Focus Magazine - Leading Age Services Australia ...

WORKFORCELiving Longer, Living Better and the Aged CareWorkforce Supplement: Hopes Dashed?Almost 12 months ago, followingthe April 2012 Living Longer LivingBetter announcements by thefederal government, this writerproposed that the-then “WorkforceCompact” could representhope for the future of communityand residential aged care, giventhat its purpose was “to improvethe capacity of the aged care sectorto attract and retain staff”.Events since then have inspiredlittle confidence that the(now-titled) Aged Care WorkforceSupplement will deliver on thatpurpose – at least in so far aswages are concerned.In March this year, followingthe inability of the StrategicWorkforce Advisory Group (madeup of union, department andemployer representatives) toarrive at an agreed “Compact”,Minister Butler made furtherannouncements on the make-upof a “Workforce Supplement”.This provided little more than anoverview of the criteria whichmust be agreed to by employersin order for them to qualifyfor additional supplementaryfunding. The criteria related tonecessary wage rate differentialsabove awards, access to paidtraining and professionaldevelopment, leave for workplacerepresentatives, annual review ofpart-time hours, conversion ofcasuals to part-time, workloadmanagement, workplace healthand safety and disciplinarymatters.Employers were given scantinformation on process orapplication issues. Nor were theyimpressed about the fact that,in addition to the extra directcost impacts inherent for themin implementing the terms ofthe Workforce Supplement, noprovision is made for fundingthe inevitable on-costs such assuperannuation contributions(increasing progressively to 12%from July 2013), leave, workerscompensation, payroll tax, etc.Employers’ general disquietabout the Supplement wasmore recently reinforced by the(apparently mistaken) distributionby the Department of Health andAgeing of information to agedcare workers which, accordingto some reports, simply servedto raise employees’ expectationsabout pay increases “from July”.At the time of writing, a “DraftAged Care Workforce SupplementGuidelines” has been issuedto providers in residential andcommunity care; this at leastprovides some more detailedindication of DOHA’s intentionsand no doubt employers will becontributing with comment andfeedback by the 23 May deadline.18LASA-Q Focus | Autumn edition 2013