Changing aged care, changing aged care work: workforce and work value issues in Australian residential aged care

This report presents research on the nature and valuation of care work in Australian residential aged care, in the context of change in the structure of the sector and in community expectations about aged care. The focus is the care work carried out by employees under the Aged Care Award (2010), who provide direct care and ancillary and administrative support to older people living in residential aged care facilities. The research is based on analysis of a wide range of official data, public policy documents related to aged care, and other national and international peer-reviewed studies about residential aged care.
The work of people employed in residential facilities is shaped by the characteristics of the older people to whom they offer care, assistance and ancillary support, by the organisational environments in which they work, and by community expectations and regulatory requirements about the quality of care.