International recruitment is only the beginning: setting aged care workers up to succeed
International recruitment can help aged-care providers respond to workforce needs. But recruitment is only the beginning. Internationally recruited aged care workers bring valuable knowledge and experience from the countries and health systems in which they have trained or worked. They also need a clear, supported introduction to the expectations and everyday practices of their new workplace.
That responsibility sits with the provider. A qualification or a successful recruitment process does not, by itself, show that someone is ready to work independently in a particular aged-care service.
Preparing internationally recruited aged care workers for local practice
Australia’s 2024 Aged Care Worker Survey received responses from more than 21,000 workers. Of those respondents, 57% were born in Australia and 41% spoke a language other than English. These figures describe survey respondents, not every worker in the sector. Being born overseas does not mean someone is an international recruit, and speaking another language does not indicate a need for additional support.
The figures do, however, reflect the breadth of experience and language backgrounds across the workforce. Providers need onboarding that recognises each worker’s experience while making local expectations clear.
Previous experience may have been entirely appropriate in the worker’s former health or care system. But laws, role boundaries, workplace hierarchy, clinical escalation and documentation practices vary between countries and employers. Even within Australia or New Zealand, procedures and systems differ between services.
The practical question is not whether a worker’s previous practice was “right” or “wrong”. It is what they need to know and demonstrate in this role, in this service, for the people they support.
There is also a deeper adjustment than legislation or systems. Clinical or care experience from another country, or even another healthcare setting, does not necessarily prepare someone for the particular philosophy and expectations of residential aged care. A facility is first and foremost the residents’ home, and care is delivered around their rights, preferences, routines and choices. Someone whose previous work was organised around hospital routines, ward priorities or task efficiency may find that supporting a person well in their own home means adapting pace, priorities and habits of practice. Making that philosophy explicit is part of the provider’s role, not something a worker is expected to absorb by observation alone.
Make local rights and expectations explicit
Start induction with the older person’s rights and the principles that should guide daily care: dignity, privacy, choice, consent and participation. Explain what person-centred care looks like in your service, including how staff support a resident to make decisions and respond when a resident’s preferences differ from a routine.
Cover professional boundaries and role expectations just as clearly. Workers need to know what decisions they can make, what is outside their scope, how to protect confidential information and when a task requires guidance or a different staff member.
These expectations should be practical, not only covered in a policy document. Use examples drawn from day-to-day work: how to seek consent before care, how to respect a resident’s privacy, and what to do if a request appears to conflict with a care plan or safety procedure.
Explain how communication and escalation work here
A worker may be used to a different approach to hierarchy or decision-making. In some settings, questioning a senior colleague may be discouraged. In others, responsibilities may be divided differently between nurses and support workers.
Do not assume that workers will automatically understand how to raise a concern in your service. Explain who leads clinical care on the shift, how staff contact the registered nurse (RN), and what to do if the RN is unavailable. Be clear that reporting a change in a resident’s condition or asking for advice is expected, not a sign of failure.
Practise what escalation sounds like. For example: what observations to share, how to describe a change from a resident’s usual presentation, and how to confirm that a concern has been received and acted on. Make sure workers know how and where to document relevant information, complete handover and report incidents.
A short scenario shows why this matters. A new worker notices that Mrs Taylor, who is usually chatty at breakfast, is much quieter than usual. The observations do not seem “serious”: no fall, no fever, no obvious pain. The worker finishes the shift without mentioning it. The induction gap here is not whether the worker can recite a list of deterioration signs. It is whether anyone has taught them that a change from a resident’s usual presentation matters, and should be reported even when it seems minor. Good induction covers this directly: what a resident's usual presentation looks like, what changes should prompt a conversation with the RN, and what the worker can expect to happen when they raise one.
Communication needs attention beyond spoken English. Show staff the actual forms, digital systems, abbreviations and handover processes they will use. Check understanding in a respectful way. Invite questions, allow time to practise, and provide language support or other adjustments where needed.
Connect national standards to everyday work
In Australia, the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards place workforce capability within provider responsibility. Standard 2 covers organisational systems, workforce planning and human resource management. Its expectations include ensuring workers are appropriately skilled and competent, and providing training and supervision.
A training record can help show what learning has been completed. It does not, on its own, demonstrate that a worker can safely perform a task in practice. Providers still need to check role suitability, support workers to learn local procedures, and assess competence for the duties they will perform.
In New Zealand, Ngā Paerewa NZS 8134:2021 applies to relevant health and disability services, including aged residential care. Its guidance includes expectations for appropriate orientation, qualifications and competence, alongside culturally safe and responsive care.
That means induction should reflect the service’s local obligations and communities. In New Zealand, this includes understanding the relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tikanga and Māori health and wellbeing. In both countries, cultural safety requires ongoing reflection and respectful practice, not assumptions about a worker or resident based on their background.
Use supervised practice before independent work
A structured orientation gives workers an opportunity to connect learning with real tasks. Assign a named buddy or preceptor, explain what they can and cannot do while supervised, and provide a clear way to ask for help.
A staged approach can include:
Observe: introduce routines, residents’ preferences, equipment and workplace systems.
Practise with support: let the worker complete relevant tasks alongside an experienced colleague.
Assess: use role-specific competency checks and give clear, timely feedback.
Confirm readiness: document which duties the worker can perform independently and what support remains necessary.
The process should be specific to the role and the worker’s demonstrated skills. Previous experience can inform the assessment, but it should not replace it. Nor should every internationally recruited worker be treated as if they have the same learning needs.
Create a workplace where questions are welcome
Onboarding is not complete when a worker has read the policies or finished an online course. Workers need to know that asking questions is safe and expected, especially when they are unsure, notice a change in a resident, or believe something may not be right.
Managers and clinical leaders set that tone through their everyday responses. Make check-ins routine, provide a confidential way to raise concerns, and follow up when workers ask for help. Review progress at regular points during the first weeks and months, and revisit competencies when duties change or further support is needed.
These practices benefit the whole team. A consistent approach to induction, supervision and feedback helps experienced staff as well as new recruits understand shared expectations.
A practical takeaway
Before an internationally recruited worker starts their first independent shift, a provider should be able to answer:
Does this worker understand the resident rights, dignity and consent expectations that apply in this service?
Do they know what is inside and outside their role, and who leads clinical care on each shift?
Can they describe how to escalate a change in a resident’s condition, and have they seen it practised?
Have they been oriented to this service’s documentation systems, routines and policies, not just national requirements?
Has their competence for their assigned duties been assessed in practice, with a named supervisor or preceptor involved?
Do they know, from experience, that asking a question is welcome rather than penalised?
If any answer is no, the induction programme is not finished, regardless of how many modules have been completed.
Build a foundation, then tailor it to your service
Providers can use a structured learning programme to establish a consistent core foundation for people entering residential aged care. Improve Aged Care’s Foundation Programme is designed to introduce the care worker role, how aged care works and what good care involves.
It can support a common starting point across a workforce. It does not replace workplace-specific orientation, supervision, clinical guidance or competency assessment. Providers still need to teach their own systems and policies, and confirm that each worker is ready for their assigned duties.
International recruitment succeeds when workers are not only welcomed, but properly prepared and supported after arrival. The measure of success is not simply getting a worker through the door. It is whether the organisation provides the preparation, supervision and leadership that help that person contribute safely and confidently over time.
Sources and further reading
Aged Care Worker Survey 2024 report summary, Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Human resource management: Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Sector guidance for Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard, New Zealand Ministry of Health.
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