HealthConsult

What is the 2026 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey?

This important online survey collects key information on the aged care workforce, which will help the Australian Government to understand who makes up the workforce.

The survey meets recommendation 75 from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on aged care workforce planning to collect more up-to-date data on the workforce every two years.

The results will represent the whole aged care workforce and will be used to inform policy and measure aged care reforms. The final combined results will be published on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s website (AIHW) in 2027.

How long will it take?

The time taken to complete this online survey may vary depending on the size of your service, and how readily available the information is in your organisation.

Preparation is key. If you prepare the information/data needed prior to starting the survey, we estimate that it could take around 45 minutes to complete.
Please note that you can save and exit the survey at any time. You can then re-enter the survey to finish it before Friday 27 March 2026.

‍

What do the questions cover?

To help you to prepare, the full survey questions are available in a separate document.

The survey has seven sections:

Section 1 – Job type, role and numbers. Age, gender, First Nations and visa status.
Section 2 – Education and qualifications.
Section 3 – Hours worked (Note: this only applies to some program types where the information is not already collected).
Section 4 – Workforce turnover and vacancy questions.
Section 5 – Training delivered.
Section 6 – Number of volunteers.
Section 7 – Other programs or settings, e.g. National Disability Insurance Scheme.

What if our definitions differ from the Survey’s definitions?

As we need to standardise the responses, all definitions align with existing national data definitions from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) or the AIHW.

One example is that ‘Full-time hours’ are defined as working 70 hours per fortnight. This aligns with the ABS definition of full-time hours.

There is also a glossary and hover tips to further explain definitions in the survey.

What happens next?

HealthConsult have been engaged to deliver the survey on behalf of the Department of Health Disability and Ageing.

On Monday 16 February 2026, you should expect to see this email: acpws@surveys.healthconsult.com.au with a unique link to the survey.

Please check your junk/spam inbox if the survey does not appear in your inbox.

Need help?

If you have any questions, please contact HealthConsult’s helpline on:

acpws@surveys.healthconsult.com.au
(02) 8311 0844 between 8am and 6pm (AEDT)

‍

2026 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey

Frequently Asked Questions

Get in touch with our team