THE Health Services Union has launched a landmark work value case in the Fair Work Commission to lift wages for the aged care workforce by 25 percent.

If the case succeeds, over 200,000 personal carers, activities officers, catering, cleaning, and administration workers would see their pay rise by at least $5 an hour.

The starting rate for a personal carer is currently $21.96 per hour, and the average carer retires with $18,000 in superannuation.

If the HSU claim succeeds a qualified personal carer would see their wages increase from $23.09 to $28.86 an hour.

The HSU claim also seeks to build in career paths and to recognise specialist carers in areas like dementia or palliative care.

“Aged care in this country has relied for too long on the goodwill of an underpaid and insecure workforce of women. It’s time for change,” HSU president Gerard Hayes said.

“Aged care workers are skilled. They provide care and support to our most vulnerable, to residents enduring episodes of sadness and at times anger. They should be recognised and paid for their skills.

“This pay rise is an issue of justice, but it also goes to the sustainability of the system. Four in 10 aged care workers intend to leave the sector within the next five years, because they are at breaking point. A workforce crisis is coming unless we see a significant boost to pay," Mr Hayes said.

“The Federal Government cannot keep hiding behind the Aged Care Royal Commission. We need  action immediately. The best thing the Commonwealth government can do is support this pay rise for the long-suffering aged care workforce.”

The HSU recently released economic modelling which showed a 0.65 percent rise in the Medicare levy would raise $20.4 billion over four years, funding a pay rise, an additional 59,000 aged care jobs and close to 90 minutes of additional resident care per day.

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AUSTRALIA must do more to attract wealthy migrants, including business people from Hong Kong, "as part of our country’s reforms to boost economic and employment growth" according to Atlas Advisors Australia.

This is an important recommendation outlined in the Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology’s recent Issues Paper.

Executive chairman of leading wealth manager Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley congratulated the Senate Select Committee on its insightful and thorough paper. 

Mr Hedley said it was clear Australia could benefit more from wealthy and experienced migrants who could bring new capital to be invested in growing our economy over the longer term.

“Asia is a rich centre for business ideas and technology,” Mr Hedley said. “And wealthy entrepreneurs are looking for greater investment opportunities in Australia post Covid-19, particularly given Australia’s performance in managing through the pandemic.

“Australia must create greater incentives and be more globally competitive to attract skilled migrants under the Significant Investor Visa or Global Talent Visa programs.”

Mr Hedley said the Senate Select Committee issues paper made clear that access to foreign capital and investment were key drivers for Australia’s economic and employment growth.

“Australia can and must do more to attract foreign capital and investment,” Mr Hedley said.

“More funds directed to venture capital could enable Australian startups and businesses seeking to scale up their operations and grow into the global companies of tomorrow.

“Australian industry could also benefit from new insights, experience and knowledge of experienced migrant businesspeople.”

Mr Hedley said the Foreign Investment Review Board played an important role in safeguarding Australia’s national interests.

“The FIRB should continue to operate in a context where greater incentives for foreign investment are created,” Mr Hedley said.

“Investment opportunities should not be missed out on because of inefficiency or a lack of competitiveness. We must ensure our processes are streamlined to make it easier and safer to attract much needed foreign capital.”

About Atlas Advisors Australia

Atlas Advisors Australia is a leading funds manager and investment advisory business, operating between China and Australia offering a wide range of financial services and wealth management solutions. With operations in Sydney, Melbourne in Australia and Hong Kong SAR and Shanghai in China, Atlas is able to support investors in all China and Australia locations. Atlas Advisors Australia AFOF is the major limited partner in Stoic Venture Capital. www.atlasadvisors.com.au

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TOMORROW, the inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge will meet two Western Australian agencies with a key role in the Juukan Gorge tragedy — the Registrar of Aboriginal Sites and the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee (ACMC).

Northern Australia Committee Chair Warren Entsch said understanding the role of these agencies under the Western Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act is a key part of understanding how Juukan Gorge came about.

"The Aboriginal Heritage Act has failed to protect Aboriginal Heritage," Mr Entsch said.

"The bureaucracy has played a significant role in this failure and we need to understand why."

In its submission, the Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation stated their concerns about the ACMC:

"It does seem to me that the discretionary power of the Minister (to direct the ACMC to do anything) that has existed since 1980, the limited resources of the Department and the ACMC, the limited role of Aboriginal people speaking for their country, and the limited role of experts like archaeologists and anthropologists, all act to render the ACMC impotent in the exercise of the functions that the Parliament originally intended them to exercise."

In evidence before the Committee, the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation questioned the integrity of the site registration process. It stated:

"A total number of 172 important heritage sites have been removed [from Yindjibarndi country], over the past 10 years, from the register of sites held in the department. Without proper reasons, it's not possible to actually work out why they've been removed. In fact, a man called Joe Dortch wrote a paper in which he examined the removal of, I think, 3,000-odd sites from the register for no apparent reason.

"The Yindjibarndi people have made submissions and archaeologists and anthropologists have made submissions saying just how important a particular site is, but departmental staff, in their wisdom and without ever setting sight on a place, say, 'Oh, no, this is not significant,' and the ACMC, which is understaffed and has no knowledge of country, because they're not Indigenous people from that particular country, basically go on the recommendations of the staff and say this is not a site, when all of the evidence that's put before them shows that it is the site of significance that ought to be protected —172 cases."

Programs for the public hearing are available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Friday, 20 November 2020
Time: 12pm to 2:30pm AEDT
Location: by video/teleconference

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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AUSTRALIAN trustee company Equity Trustees has welcomed the NSW Government’s Budget announcement that it would spend more than $812 million on building and upgrading social housing to help create jobs while meeting demand for affordable housing.

The announcement followed one by the Victorian government, which aims to spend $5.3 billion on social housing.

Equity Trustees executive general manager for corporate trustee services, Russell Beasley, said, “Investor interest is growing in social housing due to its ability to provide regular and consistent income with capital stability.

“We are seeing more and more investment vehicles seeking to tap what is expected to become a $5 billion asset class. There are estimates of disability accommodation projects alone that will house some 28,000 people; all backed by National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) payments worth some $700 million a year,” he said.

“The pipeline of new homes being developed under this scheme has already jumped 50 percent over the past 12 months.

“Investor revenue from government-subsidised dwellings targets a yield of 8-10 percent a year on an unleveraged basis, without taking into account the use of debt to enhance returns for investors,” Mr Beasley said.

Equity Trustees is the trustee for the Synergis Fund, which plans to invest in 1000 specialist disability accommodation properties around Australia over the next five years – having just completed its first disability housing projects in Sydney, NSW and Ipswich, Queensland.

Equity Trustees is also a leading specialist provider of fund management and funding for the charitable and for-purpose sector, with specialist NFP investment services and a philanthropic granting team distributing more than $80 million of funds annually to the social sector.

The Synergis unlisted wholesale investment trust seeks to provide positive social impact and generate attractive long-term, risk-adjusted financial returns for investors from rental payments made through the Commonwealth Government’s NDIS.  

The fund was founded by Social Ventures Australia and Federation Asset Management and includes investors such as Suncorp, HESTA and the Paul Ramsay Foundation, among others.

“The Synergis Fund is having a big practical impact on many people’s lives, with homes incorporating easy-to-use smart technology and wellness features, with fully accessible designs servicing the unique needs of each resident,” Equity Trustees Mr Beasley said.

The fund is managed by Social Infrastructure Investment Partners and the first projects, Oak Tree at Mt Colah, NSW, and Tyson’s House in Ipswich were developed by Good Housing and SDA Australia Group respectively. There are currently another 35 Synergis Fund projects under development and construction, which can home up to 116 tenants across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.  

The 132-year old Equity Trustees is one of Australia’s leading specialist trustee companies.

www.eqt.com.au

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