Aged Care

Mr SZAKACS (Cheltenham) (15:32): Tuesday 10 September was a very special day for all workers who are part of the aged-care sector in Australia and for older people and their families. It was Thank You for Working in Aged Care Day. I rise today to talk about one of the most important social services our community offers its citizens—that is, aged care—and more specifically about the people who work shifts around the clock, give their all and update their training and skills constantly to provide the best possible care for older people in our community.

The federal Department of Health's 'The Aged Care Workforce, 2016' report calculated that there are 366,000 aged-care workers in Australia. It found that 87 per cent of the residential care workforce is female, with a median age near 50, while one-third are born overseas. On the whole, they express high job satisfaction except for their pay. That is what we as a society are going to have to do something about because the share of older people in our population is only going to get bigger, so we will desperately need more workers in this industry.

The Productivity Commission has estimated that by 2050 Australia will need to triple its aged-care workforce to almost 980,000 people. To tackle that, there must be a concerted campaign to counter these negative perceptions of low pay and low status. The best way to tackle these negative perceptions is to actually do something about the low pay and low status that these workers feel. I come from the trade union movement, and I am very proud of that fact. That is why I know that industries predominantly made up of females tend to be the lowest paid in our workforce.

Sadly, these workers, their training and their dedication to the task, are not taken as seriously because of the simple fact that they are female. We know this from the childcare industry and the campaigns those workers have engaged in for years to increase their pay, to staunch the high turnover rates and to improve the community's perception of the important work they do in educating children in their earliest years. I applaud their tenacity in the face of the federal Liberal government, which has cut funding to child care across the country.

Now we must turn our attention to aged care. In October last year, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was established. Over 6,000 submissions have now been received from right across the country. The reporting out of the hearings so far has been deeply disturbing.

While I would not want to prejudge the findings of this royal commission in any way, a familiar theme is emerging. Aged-care workers and their unions have made it very plain that the answer to the issues in aged care simply is more staff. When older people are being hurried through meals and showers, dressing and undressing or their medication, more staff is the answer. When we hear of the loneliness and depression so many older people face, more staff is the answer.

The Our Turn to Care campaign, which has been initiated by United Voice, makes this very clear and very plain. They are campaigning for one extra hour per resident per week. It does not sound much, but it is a lot to ask—one extra hour per resident per week. Imagine the difference that would make to an older person in residential aged care. Imagine the difference to the dignity of older persons living in the aged-care sector.

Many people are choosing to live at home as they advance in age, even when their care needs become higher, and that should be encouraged. But we do know that it is not possible for older people all the time, who, for varied and many reasons, need to move into residential aged care. I have had the pleasure of visiting many aged-care homes in my local electorate—all wonderful and all providing wonderful care and wonderful support of the older people of the electorate of Cheltenham. They all play a crucial role in ensuring our older citizens are engaged and active.

With our ageing population, it is time we gave aged care the funding it deserves. Since 2013, $2.1 billion has been ripped out of aged care, funding that desperately needs to be returned. The Our Turn to Care campaign, being championed by aged-care workers and their unions, United Voice and the Health Services Union, is fighting for a fair paid workforce to tackle the looming jobs crisis with concrete action to make it an attractive career path with secure and permanent jobs.

Those campaigning for better aged care are arguing for mandated minimum staffing levels and a workforce mix that is focused on the physical, emotional and social needs of residents. To aged-care workers I say this: we need you and we respect you. We could not do without you. You are simply diamonds, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.