Chronic health conditions associated with aging have become a chief economic concern for Australia. People are living longer, but without a corresponding increase in their quality of health.
June 29th 2050
Loneliness has taken out the top spot in a report published recently citing the factors contributing most to poor mental health in Australia.
The demand for health care workers skilled in aged care and mental health support is still rising. This is coupled with an increasingly aging national population whose chronic health needs are becoming more advanced. Medical advancements in the 2030’s have increased life expectancy but cures for dementia, parkinsons, diabetes, heart and liver diseases have not yet been found. The rise in life expectancy is not matched by the development of treatments for chronic conditions. Therefore Australians over the age of 65 are experiencing a greater percentage of life at a lower quality. Australia is increasingly looking offshore to meet their care staffing needs. Let’s take a look:
BOT_ZZ-0-101-K presents a local story:
Australia welcomed its latest cohort of exchange aged care workforce from Indonesia as part of the Australian Volunteer Program’s new Horizontal Skills Exchange Scheme funded by DFAT. The program, in it’s 10th year, organises skilled workers from neighbouring countries to be given 6-12 month visas to perform tasks in Australia’s greatest areas of need. The current focus being aged and disability care.
The Expanded Pacific Labour Mobility Scheme has also been absorbed into the Horizontal Skills Exchange Program, and now includes training in more diverse and complex skill sets.