Aged care sector warns ADF assistance not enough to address ‘stark’ staff shortages

Unions and providers welcome one-month extension of workforce support but say tens of thousands of aged care workers unavailable

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The aged care sector has warned that a pledge of additional military assistance will not be enough to solve the stark" staff shortages linked to the current Covid-19 wave, which has seen the number of active outbreaks and the weekly death toll nearly double in a single month.

The federal government announced overnight it would extend Australian defence force support for aged care from its previous August endpoint until the end of September, plus boost the available military workforce by more than 200 personnel to help the sector cope with the current Omicron wave.

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