ANMF continues to work with members to monitor Bupa Aged Care’s implementation of roster changes to ensure care minutes and staffing levels are appropriate at each facility.
In July Bupa advised ANMF of proposed roster changes in its 57 facilities across the country, including 21 in Victoria.
Bupa’s new model proposes changes to nurses’ and personal care workers’ start and finish times and increases and decreases to their rostered hours.
An arbitration in the Fair Work Commission scheduled in August, to resolve the dispute between ANMF and Bupa, did not proceed following Bupa’s decision to provide ANMF with the proposed amended rosters.
ANMF is now in consultation with Bupa members about the proposed model to understand the impact on each aged care facility and to ensure the changes do not mean nurses and carers are understaffed and overworked and that they can continue to provide safe, quality resident care.
ANMF (Vic Branch) Secretary Maddy Harradence said, ‘It’s really important roster changes do not go ahead if they mean nurses and carers have less time to care for residents.
‘It’s critical that all of these facilities meet their legal obligations to provide the mandatory daily 215 minutes of care per resident, including 44 minutes of direct RN care.
‘We are watching employers to make sure that they don’t “game” the system by increasing staffing on morning and afternoon shifts during the week and reduce staffing for night and weekend shifts,’ Ms Harradence said.
‘Complying with the bare minimum is one thing, providing a safe working environment across all shifts and ensuring staff are not overworked is also a critical responsibility.’
Changes coming
Aged care providers who do not meet the minimum care minutes per resident in the October 2025 reporting period may have their Federal Government funding reduced.
