Australia’s aged care sector is searching for workers at a pace few industries can match. With demand rising across residential and in-home care, providers are increasingly looking overseas to fill gaps that local recruitment alone has struggled to address.
Against that backdrop, The Migration Agency has signed a trade-linked partnership with India’s Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council aimed at bringing trained personal care workers into Australia’s aged care system.
The agreement establishes what the agency describes as a talent mobility corridor between India and Australia, with the first pilot deployment expected to begin shortly at an aged care facility in Byron Bay. The broader target is 200 placements this year through the personal care worker initiative, alongside a separate nursing partnership involving the Government of Kerala.
Sarah Thapa, founder and managing director of The Migration Agency, says the push is being driven by a demographic reality Australia can no longer avoid.
“Aged care is one sector facing chronic staffing shortages, and with recent data showing Australia will need at least 400,000 additional workers across residential and in-home aged care by 2050, it is an industry that is actively calling for more workers,” she said.
“As funding of the aged care industry increases, the greatest challenge for our ageing population is access to services due to the shortage of available workers.”
Australia’s aged care workforce pressures have been building for years. The sector has faced scrutiny over staffing levels, care quality and worker burnout following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Recent reforms have increased minimum care minute requirements and placed heavier compliance expectations on providers.
Thapa says the federal government’s existing migration pathway under the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement already signals that Canberra accepts overseas recruitment as part of the answer.
“The Australian Government has established a migration pathway for aged care and nursing support workers under the industry-specific Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, providing a skilled work visa solution with a pathway to permanent residency,” she said.
“This is recognition that the industry needs an international solution to the local shortage of skills.”
She argues the new arrangement differs from earlier migration models because it attempts to connect training, recruitment, migration and settlement through a single framework rather than leaving workers to navigate the process independently after arriving in Australia.
“This program is structurally different from previous migration initiatives because we are mapping the qualifications of the aged care talent pool in India to Australian skills and visa pathways,” Thapa said.
“Utilising this talent mapping, we can recruit, upskill, migrate and settle talent into Australia as a single end-to-end talent mobility corridor under the new trade agreement.”
She says many migrants in previous systems ended up studying qualifications in Australia that did little to improve their employment prospects.
“One of the biggest challenges with this approach is migrants’ study unnecessary qualifications and may still have limited job prospects at their skill level in Australia,” she said.
The agency’s approach includes workforce planning, visa compliance, onboarding support and settlement assistance. Thapa says retention and integration are central to whether programs like this succeed.
“It also includes structured advice about staff retention and wellbeing, ensuring candidates are both skilled and ready for integration, followed by onboarding support such as training, shadowing, and settlement assistance,” she said.
“The key difference is the end-to-end model – from sourcing through to community integration – creating a more sustainable and workforce-ready pipeline.”
While nurses often dominate public discussion around healthcare shortages, Thapa says the pressure point in aged care is increasingly at the personal care level, particularly outside metropolitan centres
While nurses often dominate public discussion around healthcare shortages, Thapa says the pressure point in aged care is increasingly at the personal care level, particularly outside metropolitan centres.
“Staff shortages in the aged care industry are now most acute in personal care roles, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia,” she said.
“There are clear visa pathways for personal care workers, and we want to provide employers and workers confidence in the system.”
The economics behind the shift are also difficult for providers to ignore. Thapa points to one nursing program that relied heavily on agency staff before moving toward permanent overseas recruitment.
“We recently worked with registered nurse program who was spending around $1.5 million annually on agency nurses,” she said.
“On public holidays, rates soared to $260 per hour, compared to the standard $50 they might pay a staff nurse.”
“At times, up to eight agency nurses were working at once to provide necessary cover of shifts.”
She says those cost pressures are now influencing how providers think about workforce planning across the sector.
Questions around training standards remain politically and publicly sensitive, especially in aged care where vulnerable residents rely heavily on frontline workers.
Thapa says candidates entering the program undergo formal assessment processes linked to Australian standards.
“Our Personal Care Workers trained in India and pass a skills assessment with the Australia Nursing & Midwifery Accreditation Council,” she said.
“Often the candidates have multiple qualifications in nursing and aged care with a minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience gained in India and or overseas.”
She says onboarding inside Australian workplaces remains a critical part of the process.
“The onboarding stage is also critical for new migrants to be trained into the a Australian workplace standards,” she said.
Migration remains a politically charged issue in Australia, particularly during periods of housing pressure and rising living costs. Thapa argues the debate often ignores labour market realities.
“It is unfortunate that migration is politicised, when talent mobility and workforce is such a critical part of our economy,” she said.
“With a low unemployment rate and ageing population, it’s obvious that the only way Australia will meet future demand for services especially aged care services is through targeted migration programs such as ours.”
“With a low unemployment rate and ageing population, it’s obvious that the only way Australia will meet future demand for services especially aged care services is through targeted migration programs such as ours.”
She says skilled migration programs tied directly to employment outcomes can improve service delivery while creating stability for employers and workers alike.
“I have personally seen how a strategic immigration program can enable business growth and success, reduce wait times for health and aged care services, and open up more services and beds in aged care facilities,” she said.
The discussion extends beyond labour shortages into questions of integration and belonging. Thapa points to a recent study showing only 32 per cent of migrants feel a strong sense of belonging in Australia.
“I believe one of the main reasons for this is that newly arrived migrants often face challenges with the recognition of overseas qualifications and a lack of local work experience,” she said.
“Having meaningful work is a key driver of belonging.”
She says employment pathways can shape whether migrants settle successfully or struggle to participate fully in Australian life.
“I hope policymakers see this private/public partnership with the Government of India as a blueprint for how Australia could establish a Government-to-Government initiative for talent mobility”
“If a person is unable to participate in the job market at their skill level, it can lead to frustration and a lack of belonging,” she said.
The agency says its work increasingly focuses on helping first-generation migrants transition into stable careers rather than temporary or mismatched employment.
“At The Migration Agency, we help first-generation migrants find their feet, access the dignity of work that matches their skills and experience, and be paid a market salary,” Thapa said.
She acknowledges pressures remain difficult for many migrants, including isolation, language barriers and the cost of living.
“There are also wider challenges, including learning English, the high cost of living, and social isolation from family and friends while navigating a new culture,” she said.
The initiative also arrives as countries including the UK, Germany and Japan increase recruitment efforts in India’s healthcare workforce market. Thapa believes Australia risks losing ground if migration programs remain fragmented.
“I hope that policymakers see this private/public partnership with the Government of India as a blueprint for how Australia could establish a Government-to-Government initiative for talent mobility,” she said.
“Australia is very attractive to workers with excellent pay and work conditions, but we may fall behind in the global competition for talent if initiatives like ours are not embraced by policymakers and elevated to a Government level in Australia.”
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