We need a Deputy Commissioner for the Care Sector
Our submission to the Government on the establishment and the remit of the new Jobs and Skills Australia agency calls for a Deputy Commissioner for the Care Sector specifically to address all the factors that contribute to building such a skilled workforce.
There are more than enough long-term systemic issues for the care sector to address, to warrant the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner for the Care Sector to oversee wages, career paths, professional development, and to ensure people in remote areas and people with a disability have equal access to a career in the sector.
A Deputy Commissioner for the Care Sector can also support employers, to ensure these issues are addressed within the industry, and to foster direct relationships between employers and job seekers, ensuring employers are represented on the advisory body, and undertake research embedded in industry settings to advise policy development, and ensure reliable and quality data and analysis is available for both policy developers and the public.
We see a role for a Deputy Commissioner for the Care Sector as an important step towards building the skilled workforce that Australia needs.
The effectiveness of a Deputy Commissioner for the Care Sector will depend on its ability to drive Government policy, program and investment decisions through the research and analysis that it generates.
Driving action and reform around critical issues such as wages and conditions, training and career pathways, supporting under-resourced sectors and generating employment opportunity for disadvantaged job seekers and in thin labour markets should all fall within Jobs and Skills Australia’s remit.
The Agency’s ability to translate evidence into policy action will determine its effectiveness in helping to address Australia’s skilling and workforce challenges, to ensure all Australians have access to the care they deserve.