New ANMF campaign calls for three urgent aged care reforms

16 September 2026

ANMF has launched a national campaign calling for three urgent aged care reforms.

The ‘Australia needs care you can count on’ aged care campaign was launched at Federal Parliament House on 8 September calling on the federal government to deliver mandated staffing ratios, address violence and aggression and introduce financial transparency requirements.

Despite some historic changes following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the ANMF campaign demands further reform in three critical areas to ensure older Australians receive the care they deserve:

mandated staffing ratios and skills mix across all shifts to replace the current care minutes system and align with evidence-based benchmarks, delivering higher quality care and mandating a proper framework for aged care providers to meet
preventing workplace violence and aggression by implementing a 10-point plan and person-centred care planning to better protect nurses and care-workers from physical, verbal and emotional violence
accountability and transparency for $25 billion in aged care funding each year by introducing public reporting of aged care providers’ financial performance and use of public funding.

The campaign follows the ANMF’s recent national survey of frontline aged care workers, which found the sector was still experiencing systemic understaffing, increased workplace violence, cost-cutting despite providers receiving a record $25 billion funding each year.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler with members launching the new aged care campaign at Federal Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: Ben Appleton

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said: ‘The ANMF is acting on feedback from thousands of our members in aged care who have told us systemic issues are continuing to affect the quality of the care they can provide to older Australians in aged care facilities.

‘They’ve told us that aged care is not fixed,’ she said.

The ANMF’s ‘Australia needs care you can count on’ campaign aims to secure real, enforceable change that creates a high-performing aged care sector and puts the care of older Australians ahead of providers’ profits.

‘We must ensure nurses and care workers are protected, supported and better resourced in their workplace, to finally have a sector that provides care every older Australian can count on,’ Ms Butler said.

The campaign launch follows the ANMF’s recent national survey of frontline aged care workers, which found aged care nurses and personal care workers were still experiencing systemic understaffing, increased workplace violence, cost-cutting and a lack of transparency for billions of dollars in taxpayer funding.

ANMF (Vic Branch) Secretary Maddy Harradence said this campaign will need all of our members – registered and enrolled nurses and personal care workers – to work together to advocate for safer resident care, safer workplaces and improved transparency over how providers spend the more than $25 billion of taxpayer’s money they receive each year.

‘The Federal Government must replace mandatory daily average care minutes with shift-by-shift mandatory ratios and skill mix so we can monitor and enforce safe staffing.

‘Ratios not minutes will reduce the red tape and improve resident care, reduce violence and aggression in the workplace and quarantine government funding for nurses and personal care workers,’ Ms Harradence said.

‘We have evidence that shift-by shift ratios in Victoria’s 159 public aged care facilities works – private aged care residents and nurses and personal care workers can’t wait any longer.’