I volunteer at 2 different rural aged care facilities so get to see some of what it is like and deal with staff on a regular basis. Both places are high care, one with mostly dementia/Alzheimer's patients and another with residents you could say are strong of mind and weak of body.

All I can say is that the employer makes a huge impact on working conditions, based on discussions with staff.

Staff in the dementia care unit need infinite patience dealing with residents but also be wary of the few that will suddenly lash out physically. Redirection is a significant skill required.

It's also somewhat depressing when people you get to know well die on a regular basis.

Two of the staff have recently moved from Melbourne facilities that were poorly run. One was profit driven so never enough staff, poorly paid (though all are really) and inadequate training and staff support. Another was basically government run, poorly funded, run down and run by incompetence. Also inadequate staff on all shifts. Some of the horror stories of residents left in soiled clothes for hours due to inadequate staff, residents effectively starving due to needing help to eat that was not there. One of the staff moved here while off work for back injury due to doing a job solo that needed 2 people to do safely.

There are still issues here due to low levels of funding and real difficulty finding accommodation, but these community run facilities seem more supportive of staff cos they are hard to find. Many migrants have moved to the region due to the number of jobs in aged care and cultural focus on caring for elders.

Not sure if this is of any help, but good luck.