Improving productivity, quality and wellbeing in Australia’s care economy

Care and human services are essential enablers of economic participation, workforce capability, productivity and wellbeing.

As Australia reconsiders its productivity framework, it is critical to recognise care services not just as a moral imperative, but as a strategic investment with long-term economic returns and an essential component of “the progressive productivity agenda”.

To deliver a more sustainable and productive care system, policymakers must move beyond conventional metrics that prioritise inputs and short-term outputs.

Instead, the focus should shift towards outcomes-based evaluation frameworks that capture long-term public value, enable innovation, and support system-wide efficiency. We need to be clear and deliberate in how we understand productivity and quality across the care economy.

The basis for a path forward has already been established through the Government’s Measuring What Matters initiative by focusing on measuring and driving better meaningful outcomes.

In the context of the care economy, this speaks to the imperative to: “…ensure a more sustainable and productive care and support sector that delivers better outcomes and high-quality services…”