How many people work in residential aged care? Who are these workers and what are their roles? See the latest statistics in this summary of the Department of Health’s 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census Report.
The Department of Health surveys the aged care workforce every four years and publishes the information in a census report. The previous census report was published in 2016. The latest report is the 2020 Aged Care Workforce Census Report which was published on 2 September 2021. The data in this report relates to the period November 2019 to November 2020. Most of the data is limited to direct-care workers and does not cover other workers.
Most direct care permanent staff work part time (93 per cent). Some workers may have several part-time positions which when combined are equivalent to or greater than one full-time position.
80% of facilities reported that they had an RN rostered on duty overnight every day in the last fortnight.
The direct care workforce is getting younger. Around half of workers are aged under 40 years, an increase from around one-third in 2016. Of the various roles, RNs are the youngest, with around 60% of these workers under 40.
86% of direct care workers are female.
1.9% of direct care workers identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, a slight increase from 1% in 2016.
35% of direct care workers identify as being from a CALD background. This is an increase from 26% in 2016.
66% of Personal Care Workers (PCWs) hold a Certificate III or higher in a relevant direct care field, and another 2% were studying for a Certificate III or higher.
Managers of facilities are much more likely to come from a nursing background than a business background, with a bachelor’s degree in nursing or postgraduate nursing qualifications more common than business management or administration.
Type of training | Percentage of facilities who offered this training between Nov 2019 and Nov 2020 |
Infection prevention control (IPC) | 90% |
Dementia care | 82% |
Medications | 82% |
Elder Abuse | 88% |
Wound care | 71% |
Palliative care | 64% |
Falls risk | 64% |
Diversity awareness | 62% |
5% of facilities offered no training to direct care workers in the period Nov 2019 to Nov 2020.