The Federal Government will provide funding for projects across Australia to create integrated aged care teaching centres.

 

Minister for Ageing Mark Butler said this initiative will combine teaching, research, care provision and service delivery in one location to create a learning environment akin to teaching hospitals.

 

“By 2050 we expect that more than 1 in 20 working Australians will be an aged care worker.”


“This means we need more than half a million new workers and we want the best possible learning environment for this wave of students.”

 

“We want to provide graduates studying aged care with opportunities to learn in an environment that brings together research, training and real-world practical scenarios,” Mr Butler said.

 

The announcement will see 16 grants provided to universities and aged care facilities across the country under the Teaching and Research Aged Care Services (TRACS) initiative.

 

“The projects will cover a range of disciplines including nursing, psychology, medicine, physiotherapy and occupational therapy designed to support the training and professional development of workers in aged care,” Mr Butler said.


“It is critical that as the population ages, we ensure we have a highly skilled workforce and that the career path is attractive to the younger generations who are considering a future in the aged care industry.”


Recipients funded under the TRACS initiative are:

    • Aged Care & Housing Group (SA)
    • Brotherhood of St Laurence (VIC)
    • Deakin University (VIC)
    • Griffith University (QLD)
    • HammondCare (NSW)
    • QLD University of Technology (QLD)
    • Resthaven Incorporated (SA)
    • RSL LifeCare Limited (NSW)
    • Southern NSW Local Health District (NSW/ACT)
    • St Johns Village Inc. Victoria (VIC)
    • The University of Adelaide (SA)
    • The University of Wollongong (NSW)
    • University of Canberra (ACT/NSW)
    • University of South Australia (SA)
    • University of Southern Queensland (QLD)
    • University of Tasmania (VIC/WA/TAS)


Mr Butler also announced $6 million funding would be provided to eight organisations under the Encouraging Better Practice in Aged Care (EBPAC) initiative, which focusses on improving residential and community aged care through education, training and leadership.



Organisations receiving funds under round three of EBPAC are Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT) in Queensland, Resthaven Inc in South Australia, Royal District Nursing Services (RDNS) in Victoria, The University of NSW, Chinese Community Social Services Centre Inc, Uniting Care Community Options (UCCO), South Australian Dental Service and Alzheimer’s Australia, Victoria.