The Challenge
The Australian Government has committed to implementing a national worker registration scheme for personal care workers in line with recommendation 77 of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, with a new aged care worker screening process to be implemented from 1 July 2024. A resulting minimum viable product (MVP) prototype was created in the existing My Aged Care Provider Portal which required insights from the perspectives of providers who will use the new system before it went live.
The rationale of the introduction of an aged care worker screening included:
- Increased vetting and traceability of aged care workers – Previously, the only vetting required to join the aged care workforce was a police check, which was subject to discretion by aged care providers. This had previously led to aged care recipients being victims of abuse as workers with alarming records were able to slip through the cracks.
- Lack of data about the aged care workforce – The Department did not have reliable data on the aged care workforce which created a blind-spot for decision-making and reporting.
- Bringing the aged care workforce in-line with the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) workforce – The NDIS had previously rolled out a worker screening, and the disparate requirements were creating a barrier to workers when moving between the sectors.
The future vision for the department was to have a fit-for-purpose worker screening solution that would create administrative burdens for providers or workers and would support workforce mobility.
With these considerations, we focused on how we might better understand a provider’s experience of navigating through the aged care worker screening process to deliver increased usability outcomes and support a positive end-to-end user journey.
Our Response
ThinkPlaceX was engaged to test an MVP prototype for the aged care worker screening process with aged care providers—key end-users of the system. Our goal was to understand their current experience, identify usability challenges, and assess how the concept of aged care worker screening would impact their operations.
Through engagement with providers, we explored existing recruitment and onboarding workflows, workforce administration practices, and how dual providers currently navigate both aged care and NDIS worker screening processes. These insights informed a detailed understanding of where the provider portal supports or hinders the user experience.
Building on this research, ThinkPlaceX developed a comprehensive set of outputs—including current and future state journey maps, actionable recommendations, UI design mock-ups to highlight usability improvements, and an implementation plan. These deliverables are now guiding the next iteration of the MVP prototype and supporting the design of a more streamlined and effective worker screening process.
The Impact
Through our work, ThinkPlaceX provided the Department with a clear and detailed understanding of user requirements, the usability of the provider portal, and the integration points with other government systems critical to effective information flow. These insights are now informing efforts to create a more streamlined and user-friendly worker screening experience across the care and support sector. The research was actively leveraged by the client to support budget planning and executive communications, and our outcomes-focused horizontal delivery plan offered a practical, actionable roadmap to guide implementation and ensure successful delivery of the future state vision.
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