Finding an experienced leader in aged care has never been particularly simple. But for many providers, the search is becoming noticeably more difficult. It is tempting to explain this entirely as a workforce shortage. The reality is more nuanced.
Australia is not running out of managers. Instead, aged care and home care are asking more of their leaders at precisely the same time as the sector is growing, regulation is changing, competition for experienced health and care executives is increasing, and the definition of what constitutes a strong aged care leader is expanding.
The result is a much smaller pool of candidates who genuinely meet everything an organisation wants. And that has important implications for how providers approach their next senior appointment.
Demand for leadership is growing
The broader health and care workforce is expanding rapidly. Health Care and Social Assistance is now Australia’s largest employing industry, with approximately 2.4 million workers. Jobs and Skills Australia reports that employment in the industry increased by around 95,000 people in the year to February 2026.
The demand for management capability within health and care is also forecast to rise.
Jobs and Skills Australia projects employment among Health and Welfare Services Managers to grow by 27.1% between 2025 and 2035, making it one of the fastest-growing management occupation groups in Australia. There are currently around 51,200 people employed in this broad occupational group, with employment increasing by approximately 4,500 over the latest year reported.
Importantly, these figures extend beyond aged care. They include managers across different parts of health and welfare. That is exactly the issue.
Aged care operators are not recruiting leadership talent in isolation. They are competing with hospitals, community services, disability organisations, primary health services and other parts of the care economy for people with many of the same capabilities.
Home care has changed the leadership equation
Nowhere is the change more apparent than in home care.
Between 2017 and 2025, the number of Australians using home care increased from approximately 71,900 to 293,000 – a rise of 307%. Over the same period, permanent residential aged care utilisation increased by 9.9%.
That is an extraordinary structural change.
It has created demand not simply for more care workers, but for leaders capable of running increasingly large and sophisticated community-based service businesses.
Today’s home care executive may need to understand workforce utilisation, consumer experience, clinical governance, pricing, scheduling, technology, care management, service productivity, compliance, growth and margin simultaneously.
Support at Home has added another layer.
Under the new system, providers have responsibilities covering quality of care, participant rights, workforce suitability, pricing accountability, individual budgets, care management and wellness and reablement. Providers must also be able to demonstrate compliance with applicable Aged Care Quality Standards.
Pricing itself has become a significant management discipline. Support at Home providers must set prices that are reasonable, transparent and based on the cost of delivering services, while government and the regulator are actively monitoring provider pricing.
In other words, the person who was an excellent home care manager five or ten years ago is not automatically the leader required to operate a successful home care business today. The role has evolved.
The aged care leadership brief has become broader
Residential aged care has experienced a similar change.
An operational leader can no longer succeed purely because they understand occupancy, staffing and facility operations.
- Clinical governance matters.
- Workforce strategy matters.
- Financial sustainability matters.
- Consumer experience matters.
- Compliance matters.
- Data matters.
- Culture matters.
And increasingly, boards expect executives to demonstrate capability across several of these areas rather than one.
The Aged Care Act 2024 has reinforced the emphasis on accountability. Under the current framework, providers and responsible persons have statutory duties and obligations, and providers must demonstrate that the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of older people are primary considerations.
Governance expectations have strengthened as well. For relevant registered providers, governing bodies have requirements around independent non-executive membership and clinical care experience, reflecting a broader shift towards greater accountability for the quality and safety of care.
That changes the executive recruitment brief.
A CEO, COO, Head of Home Care, Regional Manager, General Manager or senior clinical leader is increasingly operating at the intersection of care, regulation, workforce and commercial performance.
People who are genuinely strong across all four areas are valuable.
They are also relatively difficult to find.
There is no shortage of capable people, but identifying those who can make a real difference to a particular organisation requires a good understanding of both the business and the leadership market.
If you’re considering a senior appointment in aged care or home care, I’d welcome a confidential conversation about what we’re seeing in the market and the options available to your organisation.
