Mandurah has been at the forefront of retirement destinations for generations, setting a high bar with its idyllic lifestyle, picture-perfect waterfront spaces and endless options for leisure and relaxation.
With the allure of an enviable lifestyle, Mandurah’s population has been fuelled by an influx of retirement-aged people looking to take life a little slower, but still enjoy the perks of vibrant city life. Between 2016 and 2021, 45 percent of people who relocated to the area were aged over 65 years.
Close to 27 percent of Australia’s population – or 8.1 million people – are expected to be aged over 60 years by 20401 and by 2058 the number of Australians aged 85 and above will have tripled. These statistics, coupled with significant gaps in the national aged care workforce expected in the future, present a number of challenges and opportunities for the aged-care industry in years to come.
According to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), unless urgent action is taken to boost the workforce, within the next decade there will be a shortage of at least 110,000 direct aged-care workers nationally.2 In Western Australia, it is forecasted over 24,000 additional workers will be required by 2031.3
Mandurah residents aged over 60 years is forecast to make up 33 percent of the city’s total resident population.
While this creates a significant need for aged care services in the region, there is a unique opportunity for Mandurah to take a leading role in building the nation’s aged care workforce of the future.
“As a city that has experienced immense population growth over the past three decades, a number of challenges relating to employment, housing, economy and education have presented themselves. We have put skin in the game with our partners and demonstrated we can tackle these. Unemployment in Mandurah is now lower than Greater Perth. Our focus is to keep it there,” Mandurah Mayor Rhys Williams said.
“As we continue to address Mandurah’s structural challenges of the past 20 to 30 years, several opportunities have come to the fore, all designed to increase economic growth over the next 10 years.
“One of the key opportunities we’ve embraced is to build the capacity of the aged-care workforce.
“We want to lead the way in aged-care training, helping to address forecast shortages of skilled labour and creating an even better life for our residents. Our high population of older residents coupled with our existing aged care providers means we are perfectly positioned to do this.”
The milestone Transform Mandurah Economic Opportunities report identified that Mandurah’s unique position as a regional centre with a growing over-55 population positioned the city as an ideal pilot site for creative and innovative models of aged care.
“For us, it makes natural sense that Mandurah positions itself to be part of the solution in a WA context, and to this end, we’re working with industry partners and training providers on establishing WA’s first aged care Centre of Innovation,” Mayor Williams said.
“Our ambition is for this centre to be at the cutting edge of aged care innovation, and to train the aged care workforce of the future here in Western Australia.
“The current demand for residential aged care places is surpassing the available supply. We have a problem now and we want to find a solution, so we’d be looking to partner with industry to establish a centre that delivers innovative training to alleviate staff and bed supply shortages in the sector.
“The centre would also focus on meaningful ageing, making sure older people have the services, programs and tools they need to live a happy and fulfilled life.
“Mandurah has a lot to offer in terms of development potential, education and training and existing health facilities to become a hub for aged care training and service delivery.”
The City is already leading the way in accessibility, having recently claimed WA’s Most Accessible Community title for a second time, plus its popular Seniors Centre helped clinch the Age-Friendly Local Government Award in 2023.
The City and the WA Government through the Peel Development Commission recently commissioned a needs analysis and feasibility study for a potential Centre of Innovation, which shows Mandurah is currently short more than 400 residential aged care beds for its population and demographic. Without intervention, by 2031 this shortage could reach 1000 beds. Underpinning this deficiency, Mandurah will need an additional 2000 workers to meet this demand and growth in the aged care sector.4
The feasibility study has shown dramatic cost savings to the government if older people were supported within aged care facilities as opposed to long-stay patients in hospitals, where many older people may find themselves as the lack of available residential aged care beds delays patient discharge.
“With Mandurah’s older population, lower ratio of workers and the challenges we will face as the demand for services increases, we are already above the curve compared to the rest of the state,” Mayor Williams said.
“Mandurah is an indication of what may come in other areas, so we would make an ideal testing ground to see what’s possible, with the model able to be scaled accordingly.
“Our ageing population presents critical challenges for our communities, but they’re also challenges that meet us at a personal level in some way or another, which emphasises the need to get it right, and the massive opportunity that’s before us as a local government.”
For more information and to view the reports including Transform Mandurah Economic Opportunities Report, and the Aged Care Training and Workforce Centre of Innovation needs analysis and feasibility study go to www.mandurah.wa.gov.au/transform-mandurah
Get in touch with the team via transformmandurahteam@mandurah.wa.gov.au
References:
1. Deloitte Access Economics, (June 2022) Transform Mandurah stage 2 Mandurah’s Economic Opportunities
2. Committee for Economic Development of Australia, (August 2021) Australia’s Dire Shortage of Aged-Care Workers Requires Immediate Action: CEDAI
3. Faircloth McNair & Associates (December 2023) Needs Analysis Report, WA Aged Care Training Centre of Excellence
4. Faircloth McNair & Associates (December 2023) Needs Analysis Report, WA Aged Care Training Centre of Excellence and Faircloth McNair & Associates (March 2024) Feasibility Study Report, WA Aged Care Training and Workforce Centre of Excellence
