Severe staff shortages in Australian care homes are being tackled by prime minister Scott Morrison sending in up to 1,700 defence staff to help with clinical, logistical and general care.

“The Defence Force are not a surrogate workforce for the aged care sector,” Morrison said, “but they do and can and have provided quite targeted support in the aged care sector.”

“Whilst we are seeing a decrease in the number of active cases, we do know that there are significant pressures in specific facilities,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said that, whilst active cases in Australia are decreasing, there are “significant pressures in specific facilities” and this assistance was a “recognition” that many care workers were fatigued.

ABC News reported that clinical teams of 10, including a registered nurse, will be sent to assist first responders in aged care facilities facing acute staff shortages. General support teams will assist in waste management, protective equipment management and other general duties, while logistical teams will help to plan care and staffing. 

“This is a significant intervention by the Australian Defence Force,” commented defence minister Peter Dutton. “Hundreds of thousands involved in the [aged care] workforce need support and we’ll provide them with that support, but we can’t replace that workforce, nor would we want to try and do that.”

This development comes following royal commissioner Lynelle Briggs’ comments that the sector was in crisis due to the government’s failure to plan for ongoing Covid-19 outbreaks, and the commission recommending urgent work to improve the aged care workforce in early 2021.