Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, Closing Address for the Institute of Chartered Accountants

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, addressed the Senior Women in Management (SWIM) 2000 Group, PSMPC, Canberra

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented to the Canberra Staff of ANAO

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, Opening remarks at a launch of a Better Practice Guide, Boathouse, Canberra

Mr Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Institute of Public Administration Australia (ACT Division)

Mr Ian McPhee - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the 2009 Brookes Oration Deakin Business School, Deakin University

This audit would assess the effectiveness (including cost effectiveness) of joint stewardship of the support worker workforce, including the coordination of workforce strategies for support workers.

In September 2021, the National Skills Commission released a report which noted that multiple federal and state and territory government program areas (aged care, disability support, veteran care and mental health care) draw upon a common pool of care and support workers, and that multiple workforce strategies exist in relation to this pool. In 2023, the Australian Government established a Care and Support Economy Taskforce and a draft National Care and Support Economy Strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy notes that the care and support economy is one of the fastest growing parts of the Australian economy and faces enormous projected demand. The Strategy states that it complements the substantial work already being undertaken in each of the aged care, disability support, veterans’ care and early childhood education and care sectors, by developing whole-of-system solutions.

The Strategy notes that ‘More nuanced approaches to market stewardship are required in thin markets, and across the care and support economy, to ensure people have access to the care and support they need’. The capability review of the Department of Health and Aged Care (endorsed in July 2023) found that systemic consideration of the health and aged care workforce is an area for improvement. The 2023 National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Review made 23 recommendations, including to the Australian Government to develop an integrated approach to workforce development in the care and support sector. In the 2024–25 Budget, funding was allocated to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to help deliver on reforms relating to the care and support economy.

Mr Ian McPhee - Deputy Auditor-General, presented to the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission (PSMPC)

Mr Ian McPhee - Deputy Auditor-General, presented to the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission

Mr P.J. Barrett (AM) - Auditor-General for Australia, presented at the Department of Family and Community Services' launch