Aged care workers to receive two payments to help retain staff amid COVID outbreaks

Aged care workers will receive two bonus payments totalling up to $800 by early May, as part of government support for the sector.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce the additional cash splash in a speech to the National Press Club on Tuesday.

The amount each worker gets will be determined by how many hours they have worked, with the first payment being made in February and the second at the beginning of May.

"Of course, none of our health outcomes would be possible without the hard work, long hours and dedicated care offered by our frontline health and aged care workforce," Mr Morrison will say.

"Their resilience over the past two years has been inspiring

"In coming months, two bonus payments of up to $400 each will be paid to aged care workers in government-subsidised home care and to aged care workers providing direct care, food or cleaning services in government-subsidised residential care."

The payments are part of a $209 million package the Prime Minister will announce for the aged care workforce.

"This is a responsible commitment that builds on the $393 million provided over three payments to 234,000 aged care workers earlier in the pandemic," he will tell the Press Club.

The payments are an extension of a cash incentive scheme designed to keep aged care workers in the sector during the pandemic.

Previously, residential aged care workers received up to three payments of $800 each, and home care workers $600 each when the scheme was first rolled out in July, August and November of 2020.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 outbreaks once again sweep through aged care homes and facilities deal with the workforce challenges of operating in a pandemic.

But even before the latest Omicron wave, some aged care facilities were struggling to find, and keep, staff.

One prominent provider in the Goldfields has tried to recruit workers by offering to pay for their study and work expenses in the Goldfields.

Last year, the government also announced it would invest $17.7 billion over five years into the sector.