Thanks for caring

from LASA Fusion Winter 2021

Redefining aged care and

AGED CARE EMPLOYEE DAY 7 AUGUST 2021

We are delighted to bring you Australia’s third annual national Aged Care Employee Day (ACED)—an important opportunity to thank, honour and celebrate the people who care for and support older Australians. ACED last year was a revolutionary day, with television coverage and so many great videos and photographs supplied by workers, aged care residents, families and prominent Australians. Acknowledging the efforts of aged care frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Scott Morrison recorded a video for ACED, which was watched almost 100,000 times that day. The 2021 celebration is going to be even better—on a Saturday this year—with planned television, newspaper and online coverage across Australia. Today and every day, we need to say to all aged care workers, “Thanks for caring!” We’ve retained the theme of Aged Care Employee Day in 2021 because it helps our community understand the valuable role played by our aged care staff, and it comes from the heart. As a community, it is incumbent on us to honour and celebrate the more than 360,000 passionate and professional individuals, because they dedicate their lives to caring for vulnerable older Australians—our mums, dads, grandparents and great grandparents. From nurses, personal care workers and allied health professionals, to chefs, gardeners, cleaners and administrators, with the pandemic still a danger, everyone in our industry contributes to caring and to protecting older Australians. It is your devotion and compassion, in what are often challenging but also very rewarding roles, that makes a huge difference in the lives of our elders. So, on Saturday 7 August, and in the lead up, we are urging everyone across the nation to reach out to the people they know who work in aged care and say: “Thanks for caring.” Thank you for a job well done, thank you for the role you play, thank you for your hard work, professionalism, consideration and dedication.

Staff are at the heart of aged care and we are very pleased that the Government’s response to the Royal Commission includes measures to support and grow a better skilled care workforce. A key part of the package is a $652m workforce strategy that will include upskilling of the existing workforce, and training for 33,800 new aged care workers through subsidised vocational education places. From 2022, the Government will fund financial incentive payments worth $135.6m, giving bonus payments to registered nurses who stay with one employer for 12 months, who work in rural areas or who take on additional training or qualifications. There will be 80,000 new Home Care Packages over the next two years, alongside supports for workers that will see more staff, with more staff time to deliver more care, as well as programs to build skills and qualifications.

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SAVE THE DATE

Saturday 7 August 2021

Join us in celebrating and acknowledging our heroes of aged care. For more information visit www.agedcareday.com.au

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The home care workforce will also expand by 18,000 new workers, funded by an extra $91.8m.

More work needs to be done to ensure the numbers and quality of staff required to support these additional Home Care Packages are available.

Across the industry, we need more aged care workers, who are better paid and better trained. These Budget initiatives will deal with urgent issues, and we hope to see the right value being placed on our industry’s workforce long-term.

On Aged Care Employee Day, and every day, Leading Age Services Australia acknowledges aged care staff for their professionalism, compassion, empathy, dignity and the care they provide—and we will continue to advocate on your behalf.

We are asking all providers to get involved, by organising ACED events for your staff. You can find posters, letters, cards, badges and ideas on how to celebrate at www.agedcareday.com.au