There were some positive announcements from the summit last week yet there is plenty remaining if we are to be successful in fixing the staff shortages and rising cost of goods that the hospitality industry currently faces. Some of the measures announced include:
- An additional $1 billion in joint Federal-State funding for fee-free TAFE in 2023 and accelerated delivery of 465,000 fee-free TAFE places;
- A one-off income credit so that Age Pensioners who want to work can earn an additional $4,000 over this financial year without losing any of their pension;
- Changing Australia’s workplace relations laws, including to make bargaining accessible for all workers and businesses;
- Amending the Fair Work Act to strengthen access to flexible working arrangements, make unpaid parental leave more flexible and strengthen protection for workers against discrimination and harassment;
- Improving access to jobs and training pathways for women, First Nations people, regional Australians and culturally and linguistically diverse people, including equity targets for training places, 1,000 digital apprenticeships in the Australian Public Service, and other measures to reduce barriers to employment;
- An increase in the permanent Migration Program ceiling to 195,000 in 2022-23 to help ease widespread, critical workforce shortages; and
- Extending visas and relaxing work restrictions on international students to strengthen the pipeline of skilled labour, and providing additional funding to resolve the visa backlog
You can read the Food Supply Chain Alliance (including R&CA) statement as well as the full summit outcomes.
