Labor leader Anthony Albanese has admitted the party will need to recruit overseas health workers as a "stopgap" measure, if elected, to meet its promise to increase the number of nurses in aged care.
Labor has committed to having a registered nurse in every aged care facility around the clock as part of a $2.5 billion promise to improve conditions in aged care.
The pledge goes further than the aged care royal commission recommendations, which called for nurses to be in every aged care facility at all times from July 2024.
Since Mr Albanese announced the plan four weeks ago as the central piece of his budget reply, Labor has been grilled about how it plans to staff the nurse increase, given there is already a workforce shortage.
Labor has said it would focus on recruiting Australians to fill the positions, either by improving underemployment and increasing the hours people are offered or by offering more training positions.
While it did not categorically rule out bringing in foreign workers, Mr Albanese previously said bringing in workers from overseas would be something Labor would look at "if need be".
But in an op-ed in The Australian newspaper the Labor leader confirmed foreign workers would be needed to meet his party's commitments.
"In the short term we must recruit more overseas doctors and nurses. But this is a stopgap measure," he said.
Mr Albanese said Labor was committed to fixing broader issues in aged care to prevent people from leaving the sector to also help staffing numbers.
"Now 80 per cent of nurses in aged care are currently working part time, they want more work but they can't get it because of the way the sector is working," he said.
"We do need to train more nurses and aged care workers.
"The question is do older Australians deserve dignity and respect in their later years, my answer to that is yes and I'm determined to deliver it."
Outgoing Health Minister Greg Hunt described the move as an "astounding backflip".
"Admitting [Anthony Albanese] doesn't have the nurses or doctors for his election promises," he said.
"He now says they will have to import them after his Shadow Minister ruled that out only days ago."
Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler was asked if overseas workers would need to be brought in to fill Labor's other policy, to open 50 GP urgent care clinics around the country.
"No I don't think they will be," he said earlier this month.
"I've been inundated by general practice organisations calling our office, emailing in the past several days saying they want to be part of this."
Shadow Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Kristina Keneally rejected accusations the move was a backflip by the party on its previous promise.
"Let me be clear, we have always said that our preference is, and our investment is, in Australian workers," she said.
"The cuts that we've seen to apprenticeships and TAFE is why we're in the circumstances we're in now.
"As Shadow Minister for Immigration, I have always made clear that skilled migration has a role to play in filling legitimate skills shortages.
"What we need to ensure is that Australian workers have a first go at jobs."
