Why carers leave — and which causes technology can actually address
Retention is not solved by an app. But some of the reasons support workers leave are directly connected to how poorly-run organisations fail to value their time.
The retention problem in Australian care
Support worker turnover in Australian disability and aged care services runs at 25–30% annually — and in some segments, significantly higher. For a sector that depends on trusted, consistent relationships between workers and clients, this is not just an HR problem. It is a care quality problem.
The standard response is to talk about wages, workload, and burnout. These are real factors. But they do not explain why carers leave one organisation to work for another at similar pay. They do not explain why some organisations consistently retain their workers while others with similar pay scales cannot.
The difference is usually about the day-to-day experience of working there.
The five most common reasons carers leave
1. Late or incorrect schedules
Carers plan their lives around their rosters. A carer with caring responsibilities at home, a second job, or regular commitments needs to know their schedule reliably and in advance.
When schedules are sent late — or when they contain errors that result in the wrong address, the wrong time, or a job the carer was not warned about — it signals something: this organisation is not well-run, and my time is not valued.
This is directly addressable. A system that confirms shifts immediately, sends reminders, and keeps carers informed of changes in real time removes this friction.
2. Communication that does not reach them
Most care organisations communicate with their carers through a combination of email, phone calls, and group WhatsApp chats. When something important needs to be communicated — a client change, a policy update, a schedule modification — the coordinator sends a message and hopes for the best.
Carers who consistently receive messages late, who find out about changes from clients rather than their coordinator, or who are held responsible for information they were not clearly given, lose trust quickly.
3. Feeling invisible between shifts
Carers are often treated as contractors in practice even when they are employees — contacted only when there is a job, not contacted otherwise, with no sense of belonging to a team or organisation.
Technology does not solve the culture dimension of this. But tools that give carers visibility into their upcoming schedule, that keep them informed, and that make it easy to raise questions or flag issues contribute to a sense of being connected.
4. Administrative burden
Many carers spend significant unpaid or underpaid time on administrative tasks: chasing mileage claim forms, trying to remember what happened on a shift from two weeks ago when they finally get around to their notes, navigating confusing systems to find client information.
A mobile-first tool that makes shift documentation quick, keeps client information at the carer's fingertips, and reduces the administrative overhead of the job is a direct quality-of-work improvement.
5. Feeling undervalued and under-informed
Carers who are blindsided by organisational changes, who do not understand why decisions were made, or who feel they have no voice in how things are run are carers who are quietly updating their resumes.
This is a leadership and culture problem that technology cannot fix. But tools that support transparent communication, that keep carers in the loop, and that make it easy for carers to raise concerns can contribute to a better-functioning organisation.
What technology can and cannot address
Technology addresses the operational causes of carer churn: late schedules, poor communication, administrative friction. These are meaningful. In organisations with chronic scheduling and communication problems, fixing the operational layer often reduces turnover noticeably.
What technology cannot address: inadequate pay, excessive workload, poor supervision, bullying or culture problems, misalignment between the work and the carer's values or capabilities. These require leadership attention and often structural change.
The honest version of the pitch for care workforce software is: it removes the preventable causes of carer dissatisfaction. It does not make a bad organisation a good one. But it makes it significantly easier to run a good organisation well.
The cost of getting it wrong
Replacing a support worker costs real money. Recruitment advertising, agency fees, background check fees, induction time, the productivity gap while the new person comes up to speed, the relationship rebuild with the client. Conservative estimates put the cost at $5,000 to $10,000 per worker. For an organisation that loses 20 workers per year, that is $100,000 to $200,000 in replacement costs — most of it preventable.
More importantly: every time a client loses a trusted worker, care quality drops. That harm does not show up on a spreadsheet, but it is real.
*Teiro gives carers clear schedules, instant notifications, and a mobile app that makes their job easier. For coordinators, it means fewer calls, fewer errors, and a team that feels informed. [See the carer app](/features/carer-app).*