Catholic Health Australia welcomes the news that the Albanese Government will make migration easier for skilled migrants, including much-needed health and aged care workers, to work in Australia.
The peak advocacy body has been calling for this from May as part of a plan put to government to address worker shortages and today it was reported that it will be part of next month’s job summit.
Earlier this year a CHA study by the University of Notre Dame found there were 82,156 hospital and aged care vacancies that needed to be filled.
CHA CEO Pat Garcia said aged care workers and registered nurses must be on the Government’s list of skilled workers who will benefit from a more streamlined migration process.
“There is no doubt that an easier pathway for temporary skilled migrants will help plug the shortfall and it’s great to see the Albanese Government flagging this as a major policy.
“But we also need to move fast on other initiatives like better training and career prospects to attract and retain domestic workers to what are very important roles in our workforce. There is no greater calling than to care for others so we should recognise that in remuneration, career development and training.”
