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PDF printable version of Australia’s largest provider – UnitingCare – plan to expand to North Coast (PDF 27 KB)

30 May 2008

Federal Minister for Ageing and local MP, Mrs Justine Elliot met with UnitingCare Ageing NSW / ACT at Kingscliff today to learn about their plans to extend to the North Coast.

UnitingCare form the largest provider of aged care services in Australia – along with the state based Uniting Church in Australia Property Trusts, Uniting Church Homes and the Uniting Church in Australia Frontier Services.

Nationally, UnitingCare operate 250 residential aged care services, more than 130 community aged care services and more than 40 flexible aged care services across the country.

In NSW and the ACT, UnitingCare Ageing cares for more than 15,000 people a year.

They operate 84 residential aged care facilities in NSW and the ACT which provide 6,218 residential aged care places (nursing home beds), and 5883 community care places. They also operate 79 retirement villages providing 3,009 places.

The Australian Government provides UnitingCare NSW/ACT with about $197 million a year in recurrent funding to carry out their vital role.

Mrs Elliot said UnitingCare provides a range of ageing and aged care services including residential care, retirement living, community care and various respite services.

Mrs Elliot welcomed the organisation’s approach to aged care which seeks to provide positive lifestyle choices for older people.

“UnitingCare Ageing provides comfort, counselling and advocacy for residents of aged care, their families, volunteers and staff.

“They have won a number of awards for their innovative and effective approaches to care,” Mrs Elliot said.

These include the Family Tree Playgroup and Art and Diversional Therapy programs.

“The Government has also funded UnitingCare to conduct a Dementia Information Service Pilot which now benefits around 60 communities across NSW.”

“I commend UnitingCare for the work they do – and I am glad that the Government’s new budget measures will further support this good work,” Mrs Elliot said.

As part of the Rudd Government’s Budget, organisations such as UnitingCare will benefit from the measures designed to support the aged care sector - both now and into the future.


Some of these measures include:

• An additional $293.2 million over four years to provide an extra 2000 transition care places to older people who no longer require hospital care but need time to prepare for longer term care needs.
• Increasing the Conditional Adjustment Payment (CAP) to 8.75 per cent of the basic aged care subsidy, meaning an additional $407.6 million over four years for investment in the sector.
• Encouraging up to 1,000 nurses to return to residential aged care over five years. Cash bonuses of up to $6,000 will be available to nurses, who have been out of the nursing workforce for more than a year.
• $300 million in zero real interest loans to aged care providers to encourage them to provide up to 2,500 aged care beds in places of shortage.
• Regularly reviewing aged care planning ratios to take into account demographic changes and ensure the supply of aged care appropriately meets current and future demand.

For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on (02) 6277 7280