As our population ages and more Australians choose to receive care at home, research shows that workers need to be equipped with the skills to adapt to new and emerging technologies to support independent living. A national environmental scan by Holmesglen Institute's Home and Community Care Centre of Excellence found that new technologies and care models are not consistently reflected in workforce training, leaving a gap between innovation and everyday care.
The findings come as demand for care at home grows rapidly. By 2044, an estimated 1.82 million Australians are projected to need home care, while the aged-care sector may need up to 400,000 additional workers by 2050 to meet future demand and quality expectations.
Home and Community Care Centre of Excellence Strategic Lead, Fleur Goulding said more people want to stay in their own homes for longer and technology can help make that possible, but only if the workforce has the confidence and skills to use it well.
"The scan shows the challenge is not a lack of innovation. It is making sure new technologies and models of care are translated into the skills workers need in everyday practice.
"Care workers will increasingly need to combine strong human and interpersonal skills with digital capability, data interpretation and confidence working across home and virtual care environments."
In-home solutions could mean an adaptable kitchen or bathroom, controls that make it easier to manage lighting and temperature, sensors and emerging AI tools that help detect changes in routine and identify potential care needs. Digital tools can also reduce administrative work so care workers can spend more time with the people they support. But workers and supervisors need the skills and confidence to understand these tools and how it can support someone's care and their own care and leadership practices.
The scan found that telehealth and remote monitoring are already well established, while smart home and assistive technologies show strong potential. But their impact depends on how well they are integrated into care and whether workers have the skills to use them effectively and to continue to adapt as the rate of technological adoption increases.
The findings reinforce the role of the Centre's Smart Home Living Lab, which will be developed in an existing home near Holmesglen's Moorabbin campus.
The Smart Home Living Lab will give students, workers, researchers, industry and people receiving care a place to test how technology, home design and care work together in everyday life. It will also allow workers to practise using emerging technologies before using them in people's homes, while giving people receiving care a role in shaping how those technologies support their needs.
The project will generate practical, evidence-based design insights and involve people who may use, teach, design, deliver, research and support care.
Early co-design workshops with care providers, industry experts, researchers, educators, and technology partners highlighted that care journeys are rarely linear. People's support needs can increase, decrease, or change over time, requiring care systems that can respond flexibly as circumstances evolve. These insights are helping shape the Smart Home Living Lab as a place to explore how homes, technology, workforce skills, and care models can support the right level of assistance at the right time while maintaining independence and wellbeing.
Importantly, the Smart Home Living Lab is also being designed to evolve as care practices and technologies change, rather than become a static technology display.
