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Aged Care Strategic Workforce Advisory Group

The Gillard Government is committed to reforming the Aged Care Sector. Part of the reform is a commitment to provide better wages for workers in the sector. An Aged Care Workforce Compact has been set up to help deliver fairer wages.

The Compact includes representatives from Government, the federal Department of Health and Ageing, employer groups and Unions. The Compact will address issues such as attraction, retention, remuneration, education, training and career development of aged care workers.

An Advisory Group, known as the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group (SWAG) has been established to develop the details for the Compact. The HSU has a seat on SWAG and will be part of the Compact. The SWAG has been tasked with developing the Compact and will look at ways to deliver:

• Higher wages

• Improved career structures

• Enhancing training and education opportunities

• Improved career development and workforce planning; and

• Better work practices

The Compact will require Aged Care employers to have enterprise bargaining agreements, which meet the minimum standards specified by the Compact, in place to receive the extra government money on offer.

The first meeting of the SWAG took place on 18 June 2012. Sincethen another two meetings have taken place and the SWAG is due to report to the Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler, in September 2012.

For more information about the Government's plans for our Aged Care workforce click here.

And for more information about the whole Aged Care reform package visit the agedcareAustralia website at http://agedcareaustralia.gov.au.

An agreed Communique will be issued sometime after each SWAG meeting.

Download File:
SWAG Terms of Reference [ pdf ]

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