Workforce advisory services for aged care providers

Get a better understanding of your workforce with free and confidential advice on improving your HR practices.

In response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Australian Government aims to improve choice and transparency for senior Australians and elevate the quality and safety of care provided across the sector through fostering investment and innovation by providers, and boosting their overall resilience. The aged care workforce is a vital component to ensuring providers are able to deliver high quality, safe and respectful care.

To support this aim, Australian Government announced funding to deliver Workforce advisory services (WAS) as part of the 2021-22 Federal Budget. The WAS also aligns with the broader Australian Government priorities to increase workforce skills and capabilities, especially in the aged care industry.

PwC has been commissioned by the Department of Health to deliver the confidential and free WAS to the aged care industry alongside the Business advisory services (BAS) program.

The Workforce advisory service aims to support aged care providers to improve the capability and capacity of their workforces and human resource management practices (focusing on care-based workforce) by:

providing insights and practical solutions (including tools and templates) for the specific issues aged care providers are facing in relation to workforce, recruitment and retention;
identifying and sharing industry better practices to improve capacity and capability across the industry;
supporting the improvement of skills and training delivery by providers to improve the quality of care being delivered (beyond mandatory training); and
assisting providers identify strategies in relation to ongoing professional development and career pathways for clinical and care staff.

At no cost to you, and on the basis of our terms of business for these services, PwC will:

conduct workforce analysis, focusing on:
- workforce demographics (e.g. age, gender, cultural background, etc.);
- employee turnover; and
- use of agency arrangements.
review the human resources processes of your organisation, focusing on:
- attraction and recruitment;
- learning and development;
- engagement and retention; and
- performance and accountability.
outline an action plan to implement opportunities identified for improvement.

Our scope of work will not:

constitute an audit or review in accordance with the standards issued by the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board;
include an assessment of compliance against relevant employment legislation, regulation or industrial instruments; or
include a review of the quality of health care or aged care services offered, or compliance with applicable aged care regulatory requirements.

To be eligible for assistance, your organisation must:

be an approved aged care provider in Australia with a National Approved Provider System (NAPS) ID, and
not be a State Government entity.

In addition, we will work with you to meet PwC's further acceptance criteria (such as checks against pre-existing relationships). Applicants will be prioritised on a needs basis. The Department of Health will make the final decision regarding which applications go forward. Your organisation will then need to accept PwC's terms of business for these services.

PwC will support you by:

equipping you with practical templates to use within your organisation;
collecting and presenting your data in an interactive visualisation for you to view and assess;
providing key diagnostic information about your workforce and human resources practices;
discussing any areas of potential risk in your workforce and providing recommendations in a tailored workshop;
issuing a report to assist you in identifying action items to improve your human resources practices and workforce;
reconnecting with you at 6 and 12 months after your receive your report and recommendations to discuss and monitor the progress of your improvements;
allowing you to compare workforce data to previous positions to identify any progress made, or emerging issues; and
serving as a point of contact for any ideas, queries or questions you may have about your workforce and human resources practices.

Apply here - submit your application to the Workforce advisory services

The process

PwC is here to support and help you improve the engagement and management of your workforce. The process for the Workforce advisory services (WAS) is outlined below, but feel free to contact us at any stage.

Frequently asked questions

Who is PwC?

PwC Australia is part of a network of firms in 158 countries with over 250,000 people. PwC is one of the top 50 brands worldwide and PwC Australia is among LinkedIn’s top companies for where Australians want to work. We are bold about our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and we empower flexible working. We deliver quality in audit, assurance, consulting and tax services to more than 5,000 clients.

Our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems.

Is my data and information secure and private?

Yes. All data and information you provide to us will be retained securely. The application form is hosted on Qualtrics, which is a secure hosting platform based in the United States (refer to their security statement here for further details). Successful applicants will be requested to provide us with additional data and information to inform our analysis. This data and information will be provided through and held (for the duration of the services) in Data Kit and based in Australia.

The information collected throughout this process is protected information under division 86 of the Aged Care Act 1997. Any personal information collected through this survey is held in compliance with the requirements of the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and our Privacy Policy (refer here for further details).

Will my organisation’s report be seen by anyone else?

No. Your report will only be seen by your organisation and PwC.

Your application information will be provided to the Department of Health for the Department to decide which applications should go forward. However, any other information provided as part of our work and our report will not be provided to the Department of Health. An unidentified summary level report will be provided to the Department of Health to provide an overview of the advisory services we have provided and to communicate key themes and issues being experienced in the sector.

Is there a cost?

No. The services are entirely paid for by the Australian Government.

How do I apply?

Complete the application for the Workforce advisory services here.

Who can apply?

To apply, your business must:

be an approved aged care provider in Australia with a National Approved Provider System (NAPS) ID, and
not be a State Government entity.

Eligibility to receive services under the program will usually be assessed at the approved provider level (i.e the entity that is registered as an approved provider under the Aged Care Act 1997) however if you are a provider that operates on a largely autonomous basis under an 'umbrella' registration you can also apply for assistance. In addition, we will work with you to meet PwC's further acceptance criteria (such as checks against pre-existing relationships).

What if I don’t want to provide the information you require?

If you choose not to provide the information we request, this will limit the amount of analysis we can conduct, and as a result, will limit the amount of advice we can provide you with. If the requests are too daunting, feel free to reach out to us, and we can help you work through it.

Is there a specific timeline for these services?

No, we acknowledge that each provider has a number of activities taking place at once, and that you may need to spend your time elsewhere. The workforce advisory services will be available through to 30 June 2023. Please note, we may be required to prioritise providers in the program to ensure the providers in the greatest need receive support in a timely manner.

How long will it take to get my report?

Following the workshop, if we have all the information we require, we anticipate that your report should be ready in about four weeks.

What support is available for the implementation of recommendations?

As part of Data Kit, we will be maintaining an up to date list of all the Commonwealth support programs available to providers that may assist you with the implementation of recommendations.