Living Longer. Living Better.
Consumer Support and Research
More support for consumer advocacy and community visitors ($30.8 million)
Older people who receive aged care services need to maintain links with the community, have a greater say in the way their care is provided and also understand and exercise their rights. To provide timely access to advocacy support and education the Government is increasing funding to the National Aged Care Advocacy Program. This will drive quality improvement and reduce the need for regulatory intervention. The successful Aged Care Advocacy Program will be expanded by 20%.Funding will also be increased for the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS). This will help lonely or socially isolated older people receiving aged care services to remain connected to the community.
The CVS will be extended to allow group visits, to leverage off new technology in home care environments and to target cohorts including culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
groups, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community, veterans and Indigenous Australians.
Supporting aged care research and evaluation ($9.1 million)
There is limited publicly available data and evidence in aged care. This limits assessment and evaluations of the system and how it works with the health and community sector. It also means that older Australians receiving care and service providers may not be as well informed as they could be in making decisions about care and support needs.The Government will increase the availability, accessibility and coordination of aged care data for the community by establishing a centralised data clearing house at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare from 1 July 2013. It will also improve research and planning for needs of older Australians and their carers by expanding the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers and conducting it every three years rather than every six years from 2014-15. These initiatives lay the foundation for improved knowledge about the characteristics and needs of older Australians needing care and support and the aged care system.