Leaders gather to address critical workforce shortage
Aged care, health and education sector leaders have gathered to tackle a growing workforce shortage facing the aged care sector. Meanwhile, the government has announced more money for ADHD treatment.
Leaders from the aged care, health and education sectors gathered at South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) this morning to outline practical solutions to address the aged care crisis.
Hosted by ACH Group, the second industry roundtable on Nurse Graduate Work-Readiness in Caring for Older People offered industry leaders an opportunity to discuss solutions to challenges in aged care that were first outlined in October 2025.
ACH Group CEO Linda Feldt said that being able to “attract and retain” a nursing workforce was one of the most critical factors facing the aged care sector.
Data from a Department of Health and Aged Care study shows that Australia is facing a projected nursing shortfall of more than 70,000 full-time equivalent nurses by 2035, as the state’s aging population is expected to continue to increase.
“We need to make sure that nurses have been appropriately trained on the way through their degrees so they can be work ready when they enter the aged care sector,” Feldt said.
“What I’m hoping is that we can come up with some practical steps as a collaboration and start to move forward incrementally.
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“It’s a big challenge and not one we’re going to solve alone. Having people from multi-faceted parts of the system here today is powerful and we get some proactive and realistic steps to take this forward.”
Some of the ideas being shared at the event included more practical training through universities to get trainee nurses into the workforce sooner.
Key speakers at the roundtable included Health Minister Chris Picton and opposition Health Minister Heidi Girolamo.
Girolamo said many nursing graduates do not “feel adequately prepared, supported or competent” to step into an aged care role.
“People can be working potentially as a carer or in other roles while they’re at university to be able to build that support,” she said.
“Back in the day, nurses were trained on the job fully and I think that went a long way to making sure they were able to get the skill set they needed.”
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Girolamo outlined a $173 million Liberal Party election promise to grow the next generation of nursing and midwifery workforce and attract more healthcare workers to SA.
Picton outlined a need to “better connect the health sector and aged care sector” to address the critical workforce shortage and demand for services.
“We are facing a huge aging challenge and it’s really starting to hit us right now and is going to be hitting us over the course of the next decade,” Picton said.
“We need to change the way we are doing things — in Adelaide, the residential aged care sector is at 98 to 99 per cent capacity and that is a figure that makes the whole system not work.”
Damning statistics from Federal Health Minister Mark Butler this month identified a need for new aged care facilities to be built every three days for the next 20 years to keep up with the demand for services.
Picton said that figure is “nowhere near what is happening at the moment”.
He said Labor would commit to establishing a $250 million no-interest aged care loans program to incentivise the construction of 650 aged care beds across the state if re-elected.
Extra funding for ADHD treatment
The Labor Government today also pledged to make it “cheaper and easier” for South Australians to receive attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and treatment.
100 GPs from across the state are today taking a full-day training course and starting tomorrow will be able to diagnose, treat and prescribe ADHD medication for South Australians aged eight years and older.
If re-elected, Labor would commit a further $350,000 to train an additional 100 GPs, which the government said would “significantly reduce costs and wait times” associated with paediatrician and psychiatrist visits.
“Allowing specially trained GPs to assess, diagnose and treat ADHD in their patients, from start to finish, will improve the lives of children and adults across the state,” Picton said.
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