Australia’s aged care workforce stands on the shoulders of migrant workers. From personal care staff to registered nurses, overseas-born employees form the backbone of the sector, keeping facilities open and residents cared for when local recruitment falls short. Without them, many aged care homes would simply not function.
The scale of this reliance is clear. According to the latest government data, more than half of all aged care workers (precisely 51 per cent) were born overseas.
The most common countries of origin are Nepal, India and the Philippines, with many staff arriving through sponsorship schemes that tie their futures to aged care roles. Around 39 per cent of workers speak a language other than English at home, a reflection of the sector’s multicultural roots.
While diversity has its strengths, it also brings with it some profound challenges. Communication breakdowns between colleagues, misunderstandings with residents, and perceptions of racial favouritism have begun to corrode morale within a growing number of aged care workplaces.
Visa applications for registered nurses in aged care surged by 244.1 per cent in 2024–25, while applications for personal care workers jumped an extraordinary 369 per cent. As facilities lean harder on international recruits, stories of friction are emerging, revealing a sector rich in dedication but fractured by misunderstanding.
When language becomes a barrier
A recent post in Facebook’s Aged Care Worker Support Group revealed an unfiltered look at the source of some of these tensions.
An Australian-born worker described what she saw as racial discrimination: promotions favouring sponsored migrants over more experienced English speakers, higher-positioned staff protected from complaints, and colleagues speaking their native languages on the floor despite English-only directives.
Responses poured in. Some shared similar frustrations, noting that residents often felt ignored or confused. Others described makeshift solutions: “We use Google Translate to communicate,” one admitted. “Some staff are very hard to understand as their English isn’t clear.”
But not all replies agreed. “Without international nurses we would not have enough staff – the system is broken, racism is no help,” one worker countered. The exchange reflected the sector’s wider struggle: balancing valid concerns with the need to avoid fuelling division.
Communication in aged care is critical. A whispered reassurance can calm anxiety, a clear instruction can prevent a fall. When language falters, the consequences ripple through residents, families, and colleagues. One resident reportedly told a worker: “I feel they don’t like white people. What a way to feel in your own home.”
Australian-born staff also describe exclusion during handovers when conversations slip into other languages. “I was getting handover for my night shift and the RN spoke in her own language across the counter,” one carer recalled. “I couldn’t believe it.” Selective enforcement of English-only rules fuels resentment and a sense of double standards.
For migrant workers, meanwhile, language barriers make daily tasks far harder. A discussion paper on the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workforce noted that poor English can erode confidence and invite assumptions about competence.
Even qualified overseas professionals face doubts about their skills, while racist remarks from residents often go unchecked.
Many workers arrive with strong qualifications, only to grapple with new systems, unfamiliar idioms, and indirect communication styles. Without support, this adaptation becomes an uphill battle.
The result is a cycle of misunderstandings that compromises care quality, especially during emergencies or emotionally charged moments.
A sector powered by migrants
At its core, Australia’s aged care system is powered by migrants. From 2014 to 2024, residential care employment grew by 39 per cent, reaching 301,000 workers. Women dominate the field at 83 per cent, while men remain underrepresented.
Overseas-born staff, comprising that vital 51 per cent, regularly shoulder the hardest shifts, often while navigating visa uncertainty and separation from families. Many come from cultures where elder care is deeply respected, enriching facilities with their commitment and values.
Yet this reliance comes at a cost: lower pay for migrant women, complex regulatory hurdles, and the invisible burden of “cultural translation” in daily interactions.
Consider the experience of Nepalese registered nurse Sonal Sapkota. Arriving in 2018, she invested heavily in bridging programs before entering residential aged care in 2020. Despite her ICU background, colleagues dismissed her expertise with remarks like, “It’s different here in Australia.” Promotions slipped by with vague excuses about her lacking “Australian things.”
A resident once told her, “You need to go back there,” while her manager brushed it off: “It’s OK, she’s old.” The impact was crushing. “It affected me mentally,” Sonal said. After two years she left, joining the many CALD workers who depart not through lack of passion, but from being undervalued.
Racism cuts both ways
The blame game in online forums where a growing number of Australian-born staff accusing migrants of forming cliques and migrants feeling unfairly judged, hides a deeper truth: racism harms everyone.
A 2024 survey by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association of more than 3,000 workers found 70 per cent believed racism was rife in their workplaces. CALD and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander staff were frequent targets, but Australian-born workers are also reporting racial discrimination. One Australian-born worker described feeling silenced as her raising any concerns about her overseas-born colleagues resulted in her being branded a racist herself.
Incidents ranged from stereotyping and bullying to discrimination over accents. For migrants, 27 per cent linked race to blocked career advancement. Colleagues were the most common perpetrators, but managers and residents were also involved. The result was thousands of lost workdays and millions in costs.
Alarmingly, most victims reported receiving no support, and many stayed silent, fearing reprisals or believing nothing would change.
What Needs to Change
Bridging these divides requires more than goodwill, it demands structural reform.
Towards healing
Amid the discord, stories of hope show what is possible. After leaving residential care, Sonal Sapkota found a new beginning in a new workplace environment. Now Clinical Services Director, she embraces cultural diversity as a strength, explaining festivals to residents, encouraging curiosity, and creating a workplace where difference is welcomed.
Her advice to newcomers is simple: “Look at the workplace that aligns with your values, not just the salary. Otherwise it will really hamper your mental health.”
Such stories remind us that solutions lie in our shared humanity. Listening to the frustrations of Australian-born carers and recognising them as real issues is just as important. Not to diminish the struggles of migrant staff, but to acknowledge that workplace harmony depends on every voice being heard.
When facilities prioritise wellbeing over productivity alone, turnover falls, teams strengthen, and residents thrive. Reports now urge co-designed frameworks that weave Aboriginal, CALD, and local voices into policy, ensuring reforms reflect the sector’s full diversity.
A percentage of overseas personal care workers not only don’t/can’t speak English , they also can’t write English. So don’t write notes regarding residents behaviours etc . Lots of missing information.
I thought when you come to this country to work you had to pass an English test.
Not fair to the residents and staff they work with.
And how is the course conducted that they do for six weeks so they understand?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of different opinions about what is an acceptable standard of English language. The Aged Care Quality And Safety commission needs to set the standard and publish a glossary of Care terms so that there is a shared understanding of what those terms mean. Of course this should be done in conjunction with NDIS and the rest of the Care sector. If we do not have a shared language we are placing residents and staff at risk.
The range of commercial technologies available to teach languages is quite extensive and it shouldn’t be a big problem to contract one of the larger language services to make it happen. It should be free to all Care workers.
There should be more emphasis on improving the English language skills if these workers. Elderly residents need to understand what us bring said to them and they need to know the carer they speak to understands them. I think the only time workers should use a language other than English is if the resident is from another country and their English is poor. The benefits to the workers go beyond the workplace. Improved English would help them in every aspect of their lives in Australia.
I am always in hospital and not quite ready for aged care. However, I watched and experienced my aged parents go through that system. I am very surprised that word racism has emerged. In my opinion, it’s an excuse or a cover. It has been well known for 10 decades new Australians are employed in the health or medical and caring industry. Heavy accents is the problem, not race. I have often had to query workers on what was said to get clarity. When given instruction to do something it is common for aged people’s hearing to be partially impaired. Marry that to some accents and we will always have issues. My wife can understand any accent but I have problems with those from the sub-continent. Strangely, I am OK at understanding Filipinos. Anyway, my point is be careful not to label what I am describing as racism. It can’t be because patients always respect and accept whoever is looking after them. Where they were born is of no consequence, and anyway the patient wouldn’t know.
I agree that migrants are the backbone of Aged Care. My father is in a facility that has 300 beds, migrant staff make up approx 80%
Information is lost in translation, particularly when delivering messages via phone
I suggested sending sms to help this process
Residents suffering Dementia must find the language barrier very confusing to their already confused minds
I believe it will take a generation before it improves
As a person of CALD background and knowledge of five languages, with extensive experience in dementia, disability and age care, I feel that IF a worker has respect, empathy and compassion for the client, then surely the same can be shared with a co worker. And our senior clients may need some counselling, change is difficult. Racism makes no one happy. Employers must promote regular meetings, clear communication, and we all need to start with self first, and change or adapt in a healthy way. We are different, but our human rights are equal. Harmony is possible.
Has it ever occurred to those bureaucrats who write reports about workplace problems in the aged care workforce WHY this sector is staffed by 51% immigrants and WHY ” at its core, Australia’s aged care system is powered by migrants”. Well, in my opinion, if the aged care industry was an industry that DEMANDED truly qualified staff, respect for its residents, was a highly regarded area of care, had Management who were appropriately qualified and understood what was needed for a facility to function to a high standard of care ACROSS THE BOARD and paid its staff accordingly, THEN you would have a lot of English speaking staff in Australia applying for those roles and remaining in the sector. Unfortunately, most nursing homes are just cash cows for the providers and employment for those who would otherwise be unemployed due to poor English skills and substandard credentials. If it were not so, then I believe we would not be having this
conversation. The aged care problem has nothing to do with racism. Patients/residents don’t care and families don’t care about people’s origins. What they do care about is how the service is provided, how their loved one is cared for and how issues can be promptly and fairly resolved. Australia is an English speaking country – high skills in that language SHOULD BE MANDATORY. Without that requirement, as stated above in the article, how can a nursing facility function with due care an attention to both the residents, the medication, the hand-overs of nursing, the maintenance of file notes etc. Apathy, wokism re “racism”, lack of expertise and poor management ALL add to the problems of the aged care sector.
When our Govt. has no interest in aged care and gives it simple lip service, how can you expect any change? Our elderly are not respected or given any due consideration because if they were, we would not have a rorted basket case like NDIS, we would have a decently functioning system where home care was provided for those that need it (without a massive waiting list and , now, at a high personal cost), accreditation agencies would be doing their jobs properly and legally punish those substandard nursing institutions , victims of abuse in nursing homes would also see their perpetrators legally punished and genuine cases of concern would be acted upon by Nursing Home Managers in a swift and appropriate manner. Well, that doesn’t happen and that is why I believe the age care system across nearly every discipline deserves a one star. Some medical staff and allied personnel in hospitals also think that the elderly shouldn’t be taking up space AND forget that every human being has worth. I feel so terribly sorry for those in the aged care sector who really do care, who give their best and are proud of their job but eventually leave for all the reasons mentioned above. I have seen wonderful nurses, both men and women, leave because of how rotten the system is and the industry which does not value them.
So, in a nutshell, I think the mindset of the principal players in the aged care sector both bureaucrats and providers, should undergo a compete overhaul and bring in some humanity, fairness and genuine care for those living in the aged care sector and those working within it. ONLY then will things change for the better. I will not be holding my breath!
“Stands on the shoulders of migrant workers” Mmmmm. Yes there are many valuable migrant workers in the aged care workforce but the people “holding up” the residential facilities with their wealth of experience, aching backs, good humour, willingness to train yet-another new staff member and tired and aching bodies are the middle-aged and older Australian women carers, laundry staff, kitchen, housekeeping and cleaning staff many of whom have worked in this industry for over 30 years. Please don’t assume it is only young migrant workers holding up the industry because when us older women start retiring who is going to teach and train these migrants? Don’t take us for granted. We’re valuable.
I left aged care in 2022 after 10 years the quality of care has declined significantly even though person centred care is promoted
It’s task centred and overrun by migrant labour by the time I left there was very few Australian born workers the migrants segregated themselves by race and caste
It became an absolute nightmare
Left me feeling I should never have changed career mid life because now it’s difficult getting back into finance industry
I have actively advised younger people not to become a nurse
I work with a lot of People from around the world! Sometimes the language barrier can be frustrating but I love working with those from Other Cultures. My main complaint is the fact that some of Them are constantly on Their mobile phones between duties. All mobile devices should be left in lockers. My other moan is when Our documentation I pads are unplugged so that They can recharge Their phones!
They get told to not bring them on the floor but still do it!