Sixty of Australia’s largest care service providers will collaborate through a world-leading new research centre in Victoria.
The Care Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), to be housed at La Trobe University, is the first for the sector in Australia and largest in the world.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Carmela Sergi said the CRC would develop new technologies and workforce solutions to meet Australians’ expectations for high-quality and contemporary care into the future.
“The CRC will foster collaboration with wide-ranging stakeholders from across Australia including private and public companies, partner universities, councils of social service, regulators, government agencies, consumer peak bodies and community groups,” Ms Sergi said.
She said Australia’s $327 billion care economy was a critical industry, covering all services that support people’s well-being from early childhood education to aged care, family services, social housing, mental health and disability support.
“The $129 million, 10-year partnership of 60 organisations across Australia will collaborate on care technology, data solutions and workforce innovation to address challenges such as increased demand and skills shortages currently crippling the sector.”
Ms Sergi said the Care Economy CRC had been awarded $35m in federal funding through a Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) grant.
“This funding will help transform care services to improve quality, productivity and sustainability of care,” she said.
Director of La Trobe’s Care Economy Research Institute (CERI) and incoming Research Director of the Care Economy CRC, Professor Irene Blackberry, said no other research centre in the world was focusing on health and social care at this scale of investment.
“By fostering collaboration and innovation, we can ensure that Australians receive the highest quality care, and that our care workforce is well-equipped to meet future challenges,” Professor Blackberry said.
“The CRC will enable us to address the growing demand for care services, support our workforce and deliver better outcomes for all Australians.”
She said the Care Economy CRC was projected to deliver more than $1.4 billion in direct benefits over the next 15 years.
