Aged and community care services make up a large and diverse sector that has links to both the Health and Community Services industries. Together, Health and Community Services represent the second-largest industry in Australia, employing more than 1,146,000 people as at February 2009 or 10.6% of the Australian workforce. Of these workers, approximately 22% work in the aged and community care sector.
With Australians living longer and advances in medical treatments and technologies the demand for aged and community care services continues to grow rapidly. At the beginning of the 20th century, people aged 65 years and over represented just 4% of Australia's total population. By 2007 this had risen to 13% of total population. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that over the next fifty years this proportion will rise to between 23% and 25%. This change in demographics will have significant impacts, not the least of which is the continued growth of the aged and community care sector in order to meet the demands of an ageing population.
The aged and community care sector provides accommodation, support, and care services to older people in need and younger people with a disability. Services in this sector include nursing homes, hostels, respite centres, home care and nursing services, retirement villages, independent living units and seniors' housing. Some services are also provided specifically for the carers of older people or younger people with a disability.
There are two main settings in which aged and community care services are provided: residential care facilities and community settings, such as people's homes and community respite centres.
Residential facilities provide accommodation and care for people who can no longer live at home because of ageing, illness or disability. These facilities include nursing homes, hostels and other ageing in place facilities. There are two types of residential care in Australia - high-level and low-level care. High-level care provides nursing care, meals, laundry, cleaning and personal care. Low-level care provides assistance with meals, laundry and personal care and allow for transition to higher care. Nursing care is provided when required. Residential care services may also provide short-term respite care, and some services are specific to people with dementia. There are also now some residential care facilities specifically for younger people with a disability.
Most older people and people with a disability prefer to live in their own homes but may require some assistance in order to maintain their health and independence. Community care services help out with daily living activities that may have become harder to manage. These services aim to meet basic needs to maintain clients at home and in the community, and they may include services provided at home, in the community and in respite centres or other community facility. Services include community nursing, domestic assistance, personal care, meals on wheels, home modification and maintenance, transport, and community-based respite care. For some clients, high-level care services may also be provided in the home. Some community care services are specifically provided for people with a physical disability or people with dementia.
Aged and community care services are provided by a variety of private, not-for-profit and government organisations. These range from small facilities with only limited staff, to some of Queensland's largest employers who operate many services across the state and employ thousands of workers. Local and State Government agencies, along with church and charitable organisations, represent a significant proportion of employers. There are also many other community-based providers and a growing number of private and for-profit providers in the sector.
Many aged and community care organisations operate both residential and community care services, which may allow staff to work in both settings. Nearly half of community based aged care providers aim to cater for a specific ethnic or cultural group, as do about 17% of residential care services. Some aged and community care services operate as part of larger organisations that also provide services to other client groups.
The aged and community care sector is one of the largest and fastest growing employers in the Community Services and Health industries. The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) estimates that employment in residential aged care homes across Australia increased by 11.5% from about 157,000 to about 175,000 between 2003 and 2007. Over the same period, the number of Personal Carers / Assistants in Nursing in these facilities rose by almost 26% to nearly 85,000.
DoHA also estimates that services providing community care through Commonwealth
supported programs employ about 87,500 people, which is about half the size of the residential aged care workforce. While there is not clear data on the rate of workforce growth in community aged care, there is an increasing emphasis on providing care and support to people in the community and in their own homes, and the number of services in this setting is growing faster than residential aged care services.
Aged and community care services employ staff in a variety of direct care roles along with other roles not involved in direct care work, such as administration, catering, cleaning, building maintenance, etc. Other specialist and senior roles common in these sectors include work in Management & Coordination, Finance, Marketing & Communications, Human Resource, Procurement, Fleet Management, Quality and Auditing. Employers in this sector often describe the range of non-care jobs required to operate residential care facilities as being similar to those required to operate a large tourist resort or hotel.
In residential care services, the largest proportion of the direct care workforce (63.6%) is made up of Personal Carers and Assistants in Nursing. Approximately 29% of the residential care workforce is made up of Registered and Enrolled Nurses, while 7.4% are Allied Health workers.
In community care services, Personal Carers make up an even larger proportion of the workforce at 69%. Registered Nurses (and a smaller number of Enrolled Nurses) make up approximately 11% of community care workers, and another 5% are Allied Health workers. The remaining 15% of this workforce are employed in non-direct care roles.
Here are some other interesting features of the aged and community care workforce:
The aged and community care sector, just as like the broader Health industry and many other sectors, is experiencing significant labour shortages in a variety of roles. The number of vacancies for care staff varies however there are relatively more vacancies for Registered Nurses than for other occupations. Significant vacancies also exist for Personal Carers and, to a lesser extent, Enrolled Nurses and Allied Health workers. The rapid growth of the sector has meant that vacancy numbers have increased over recent years, and these increases are predicted to continue. While the recent economic downturn has eased the labour shortages for assisting roles, severe shortages will return quickly as the economy continues to improve.
Almost all aged and community care employers report using newspaper and/or internet job ads to source new staff. While most employers advertise jobs in both media, almost 40% of employers reported using newspaper job ads but not internet job ads. Approximately 10% of employers reported recruiting staff from among existing job placement workers (such as students completing an aged care qualification).
Over 40% of employers also reported using informal strategies to source new staff, such as unsolicited walk-ins and word of mouth. Surveys of recently hired aged care workers show these informal strategies are as effective as the formal strategies. In those surveys, 49% of community care workers and 65% of residential care workers reported they found their jobs either by 'walking in' to a service and asking for employment, or through word of mouth.
Aged care workers express lower levels of satisfaction with their rates of pay than do other comparable workers. Research shows that aged care workers are attracted to the field because they see the work of caring as important and satisfying.
Here is a list of the qualifications most directly related to the common roles in aged and community care.
Traineeships are available in Queensland for the Aged Care Workers (linked to the Certificate III in Aged Care Work) and Community Care Workers (linked to the Certificate III in Home and Community Care). There are also a range of apprenticeships and traineeships available that are suitable for non-direct care roles, such as Catering Operations, Business Administration, etc.
For more information about traineeships and apprenticeships, visit the Queensland Government's Apprenticeships Info website.
To search or browse for traineeships and apprenticeships available in Queensland, visit the Queensland Training Information Service website.
ACQ is the Queensland peak body for the providers of aged and community care and retirement services.
http://www.acqi.org.auThis Commonwealth Government site provides information about aged and community care services. This site includes a community care service finder and an aged care home finder to locate Commonwealth Government funded services in your area.
http://www.agedcareaustralia.gov.au/LHMU is the Union for personal care workers, as well as hospitality and support staff in Queensland residential and community care, including HACC programs.
http://www.lhmu.org.au/branches/qld/Information about the Queensland Home and Community Care (HACC) program.
http://www.health.qld.gov.au/hacc/Information on ageing, aged care, programs and funding, fact sheets, publications, etc.
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/ publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-whatnew.h tm
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The Health and Community Services Workforce Council acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Queensland and their continuing connection to land and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to the elders both past and present.
