Two-thirds of the Australians who participated in the Australian National University survey also said they had little confidence in the sector - a figure which has only declined further following outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country.

The findings comes weeks after the federal government announced it would commit $17.7 billion to the sector, investing in an additional 80,000 home care packages over the next two years along with resident supplements and increased face-to-face care time, totalling $7.1 billion alone.

It formed part of its response to a damning royal commission report, which found the sector had been underfunded, understaffed and plagued by high levels of neglect and abuse.

Study co-author Professor Nicholas Biddle said while the funding announcement was welcome, more needed to be done over the long-term.

"The additional $17.7 billion is certainly a substantial improvement to what the existing level of funding was but I don't think anyone is under the illusion that that's going to create a system which meets the needs of those in aged care or their family or workers in the industry," Professor Biddle told The Canberra Times.

"The levy is one way to bring in additional funds and neither Labor nor the Coalition have ... signalled their support."

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The survey also found the sector was struggling to attract workers with only 10 per cent of respondents saying they would recommend the industry to unemployed Australians.

Professor Biddle said support for a levy was a promising first step but funding alone was not enough to address the shortfalls identified by the royal commission.

"What else is needed is really a significant investment in the workforce and that's not just funds," Professor Biddle said.

"It's about how the workforce, how the industry is perceived by those who are making a decision about where to work and where not to work.

"I think it's also pretty clear from the royal commission that there are changes that can be made, which aren't tied to funding - things like reporting and disclosure and transparency."