2023 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey Dashboard

This dashboard presents a summary of the key findings from the 2023 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey (the Survey) commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (the Department).

The 2023 Survey captures information on the size, composition and characteristics of the aged care workforce across 5 key service care types:

• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program [included for the first time in 2023]
• Residential aged care
• Home Care Packages Program
• Commonwealth Home Support Programme
• Multi-Purpose Services Program [included for the first time in 2023].

This dashboard was created by the AIHW on behalf of and with input from the Department. The 2024 dashboard follows 3 previous dashboards published on the GEN website which present key report findings for the aged care workforce: two in 2016 (People in Australia’s care workforce and Australia’s aged care workforce), and one in 2020.

Of the 3,000 services who were invited to participate, submissions from 1,401 services were provided giving an overall response rate of 47%. Across the 5 service care types, the final data set comprised submissions from:

• 29 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program services (67% of 43 services invited)
• 598 Residential Aged Care services (56% of 1,065 services invited)
• 360 Home Care Packages Program services (46% of 778 services invited)
• 321 Commonwealth Home Support Programme services (34% of 941 services invited)
• 93 Multi-Purpose Services (54% of 173 services invited).

Aged care service types

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFAC) funds service providers to provide flexible, culturally appropriate aged care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over close to their home and community. The program delivers a mix of aged care services, with most services being located in rural and remote areas. 

Residential aged care (RAC) provides support and accommodation for people who have been assessed as needing higher levels of care than can be provided in the home, and the option for 24-hour nursing care. RAC is provided on either a permanent, or a temporary basis.
 
Home Care Packages Program (HCPP) is a more structured, more comprehensive package of home-based support, provided over four levels.
 
Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) provides entry-level services focused on supporting individuals to undertake tasks of daily living to enable them to be more independent at home and in the community.

Multi-Purpose Services Program (MPS) provides integrated health and aged care services to rural and remote communities.

Geographic remoteness

This dashboard also presents findings from the 2023 Survey based on the geographic remoteness of these service care types. Geographic remoteness was classified using the Modified Monash (MM) Model 2019 classifications. The model defines whether a location is classified as a metropolitan area, regional centre, rural (large, medium, small), remote or very remote. MM 2019 classifications are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard – Remoteness Areas (ASGS-RA) framework.

Job groups

There are several main job groups that make up the aged care workforce which are referred to specifically in the 2023 dashboard: 

1. Nursing staff which include nurse practitioners, enrolled nurses and registered nurses.
2. Personal care workers which include personal care workers (assistant in nursing) and personal care workers (formal traineeship).
3. Allied health professionals and assistants including the following job roles: audiologists, chiropractors, dietitians, exercise physiologists, occupational therapists, osteopaths, pharmacists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, allied health assistants and other (not specified) allied health professionals e.g. optometrists.
4. Ancillary care staff which include staff who provide services such as cleaning, kitchen, gardening, and maintenance.
5. Other, which include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, diversional therapists, oral health professionals, pastoral/spiritual care workers and other roles not defined.
6. Management and administration staff, which include clinical care managers, and workers in other management and administrative roles.
7. The total aged care workforce comprises those providing direct care (nursing and personal care staff, and allied health professionals and assistants), management and administration staff, ancillary care staff and ‘other’ staff.

Notes:

1. The ‘older population’ is comprised of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50–64 years and all people aged 65 years and older.
2. Counts are estimated from weighted survey data. Counts may not add up to totals based on rounding.
3. Direct care staff includes nurse practitioners, registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care workers including personal care workers (assistants in nursing) and personal care workers (formal traineeship), and allied health professionals and assistants. Management and administration staff include clinical care managers and workers in other management and administration roles. Other category includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, diversional therapists, oral health professionals, pastoral/spiritual care workers and other roles not defined.
4. Weighted estimates may overstate the size of the workforce where staff work for multiple providers or across different service care types.