UnitingCare Australia welcomes the opportunity to respond to National Competition Policy – National Approach to Worker Screening in the Care and Support Economy, published by Treasury and the Department of Finance.

UnitingCare Australia supports productivity with purpose, understanding that productivity is not an end in itself, but a means to improve quality of life. To unlock the full potential of Australia’s people and economy, we must invest in the conditions that enable everyone to thrive. This requires a human-centred productivity agenda that values:

• Wellbeing as a key outcome of productivity
• Resilience as a foundation for sustained growth
• Inclusion as a driver of both equity and efficiency.

From this perspective, we broadly support efforts by Treasury and the Department of Finance, through the National Competition Policy (NCP) agenda, to develop a national approach to worker screening across the care and support economy. Making worker screening simpler and easier can increase efficiency and safety and reduce administrative burden, enabling care and support providers and the workforce to better deliver quality services that improve individual and community wellbeing, strengthening the economy more broadly.

We note the importance of a national approach to worker screening for both the NCP and productivity policy agendas, as a key enabler of regulatory harmonisation to unlock the full potential of the care and support economy. UnitingCare Australia has previously provided feedback to the Productivity Commission—as part of the Inquiry into Delivering Quality Care More Efficiently—in support of the recommendation that the Commonwealth Government develop a national screening clearance. We also note support for a national approach to care and support worker screening from key government and non-government stakeholders, including the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA). CEDA’s recent report, Towards a More Seamless Australian Economy, references UnitingCare Australia’s feedback to the Productivity Commission regarding a national approach, highlighting current inefficiencies across jurisdictional approaches and the need to streamline screening nationally to achieve efficiency gains.

While we recognise the value of streamlining care and support worker screening, we believe Option 2—a single national check across the care economy—is the most effective pathway forward. This approach aligns with proposals from the Productivity Commission, CEDA, and others, and we consider it more likely to deliver meaningful efficiency gains than Option 1: expanded mutual recognition. Although mutual recognition may offer some short-term improvements, it would be administratively complex and unlikely to achieve fuller productivity benefits. In contrast, a single national check would replace the current patchwork of jurisdictional systems with one consistent, portable screening process—simplifying compliance for providers and workers. We see mutual recognition as a potential transitional step, for mapping existing processes and informing future reform, but not as the end goal.

Download the PDF to read our submission in full.

About UnitingCare Australia

UnitingCare Australia is the national body for the Uniting Church’s community services network and is an agency of the Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia.

We give voice to the Uniting Church’s commitment to social justice through advocacy and by strengthening community service provisions.

We are the largest network of social service providers in Australia, supporting 1.4 million people every year across urban, rural, and remote communities.

Our aged care network delivers services to approximately 95,000 older people and has more than 220 residential aged care homes across all states and territories, including in capital cities, regional towns, and very remote parts of Australia.

We focus on articulating and meeting the needs of people at all stages of life and those that are most vulnerable.