At its recent Annual General Meeting, IRT, a not-for-profit community-owned organisation, reflected on a year marked by resilience and progress despite familiar challenges associated with the aged care sector.
Workforce shortages, particularly in regional and rural areas, have been a primary concern.
IRT achieved a milestone by welcoming its first group of overseas workers, with plans to bring in over 200 employees from countries like the Philippines and Fiji.
A key to the project’s success was the training provided by the Registered Training Organisation IRT Academy, which engaged 178 students in the Philippines. By 30 June 2023, 24 had arrived in Wollongong to complete their training and start their journey as qualified aged care employees with IRT. IRT expects to welcome many more overseas employees this financial year.
“This will make a significant impact on reducing our workforce shortages and reliance on agency staff and relieve workforce pressures. Importantly, it will also provide continuity of care for our residents and customers”
Patrick Reid, CEO, IRT
Financially, IRT reported an annual operational revenue of $253.1 million, an increase of 10.2%. Adjusted for the sale of IRT Links Seaside Aged Care Centre and Retirement Village in 2022, operational revenue grew by 16.4%. Despite this, the organisation reported a loss of $4,490,567 on the back of last year’s modest profit of circa $500K.
