As Australia ages, the care workforce will depend on better training, stronger retention and skilled migration – not a narrow debate about population or monoculture.

Not long ago, I visited an aged care facility. As I spoke with residents and staff, something struck me. The people caring for some of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens reflected the Australia we have become.

I met carers from Nepal, India, the Philippines, China and many other parts of the world. They worked alongside Australian-born colleagues with one shared purpose: caring for older Australians with dignity and compassion.

This was not an unusual experience. It was a glimpse of one of the biggest workforce challenges facing Australia.

Yet this challenge is often missing from our national conversation about migration.

The debate is frequently framed around population numbers, borders and identity. But workforce planning requires a different question: who will care for Australia as our population grows older?

During my nearly 30 years in the Australian Public Service, including my work at Jobs and Skills Australia before my retirement, I saw how workforce challenges evolved from short-term shortages into long-term structural issues. The evidence is clear: Australia’s future workforce needs cannot be met through one policy lever alone.

We need stronger education and training pathways, higher workforce participation, improved retention and a well-managed migration system.

The care economy brings all these challenges together.

Australia’s care economy is already a major employer

Health care and social assistance is now Australia’s largest employing industry. It employs around 2.4 million people, representing approximately 16 per cent of Australia’s workforce. The industry added around 95,000 workers in the past year........

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