2 days ago
Uniting Care to cut 120 Queensland jobs ahead of aged care reforms
Frail and elderly Queenslanders relying on in-home nursing care will be impacted by a new round of job cuts to Uniting Care services.
The healthcare provider will cut about 120 jobs from its Blue Care community services division, which provides at-home care for vulnerable and elderly people.
The organisation's group executive, Maria McLaughlin-Rolfe, said the charity would make the cuts "as part of a strategy to position itself for operational sustainability" ahead of the federal government's long-awaited aged care reforms.
"Regrettably, this change and the impact of reform mean some roles are no longer viable or required," Ms McLaughlin-Rolfe said in a statement.
The job cuts come just over a year after the organisation sacked about 340 employees.
Financial documents show Uniting Care recorded a loss of nearly $95 million last financial year, up from a $53 million loss in the previous year.
Ms McLaughlin-Rolfe said no frontline care staff would lose their jobs in the latest round of cuts.
Aged care reforms passed by the previous federal government in bipartisan support with the Coalition will change how home care operates.
The reforms were due to take effect from July 1 but have been delayed until November.
The new Support at Home program will replace existing home care packages, which provide services including in-home nursing care and support with everyday living, such as cleaning and gardening.
Access to government support will also be subject to greater means testing, with full pensioners to pay 5 per cent of support costs, while self-funded retirees will pay up to half of the costs.
The chief executive of Townsville-based disability support not-for-profit Selectability, Debra Burden, said the care industry was dealing with an uncertain environment ahead of the reforms coming into effect.
She said regional parts of Queensland would feel the effects because there were fewer accessible alternatives.
"The hard thing will be for the sector to transition from the previous model of care where they had more choice and control than the recipients to the new model," she said.
"The concern we have is that the impact will be on the services that Blue Care typically provides across the regions where we deliver services, which is across most of regional Queensland.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the delay to enacting the reforms would ensure "all of the systems are in place to deliver a smooth transition to the new laws".
