Major aged care agency has licence suspended amid fears elderly at risk

A Victorian aged care staffing agency, Barton Care Pty Ltd, has had its licence suspended by the state's Labour Hire Authority (LHA) due to concerns over the safety and qualifications of its workers. The LHA halted Barton Care's operations on Friday after discovering that nearly 70 percent of the qualifications held by the company's staff were invalid and had been issued by non-compliant training organisations.

The authority also found instances where workers claimed to have obtained their qualifications within a span of nine days after arriving in Australia, whereas the course typically took between six to nine months to complete.

Acting Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner Michelle Osborne stated that the suspension was taken to immediately halt the potentially dangerous conduct of Barton Care. The agency, according to its website, employs over 600 healthcare professionals, providing services such as registered nurses, enrolled nurses, personal care assistants, and facility support staff to aged care homes and hospitals across several states and territories in Australia.

The LHA's investigation revealed that Barton Care had allegedly underpaid workers and allowed students on visas to work more hours than permitted, tampering with pay slips. The LHA is considering canceling Barton Care's licence, but must first receive submissions from the company. Barton Care has yet to respond to the LHA's inquiry.