The aged care sector has an in-demand workforce, a fact that became especially notable during the height of the pandemic. Many aged care staff report being exhausted and plagued by financial pressures, but they and the work they do have never been more important.
The National Skills Commission’s Care Workforce Labour Market Study (October 2022) highlighted that Australia will have 100,000 fewer care workers than requirements by 2027-28.
So, how do we buoy up the supply, training and retention of these crucial staff? Talking to architects and designers in the field indicates, encouragingly, that one way is to improve their places of work (while also improving their pay and conditions). Cutting edge sector practitioners recognise that while the challenge is usually seen as designing for and servicing the end user residents of aged care homes, good outcomes for
