About the program
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care program (NATSIFACP) services provide culturally safe care in an aged care home or in your home, depending on your needs and the needs of the community.
Culturally safe care could include:
- buildings suited to cultural activities and ceremonies
- access to bushland gardens
- involvement of the local community in aged care planning
- care delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- respect for cultural traditions, such as men’s and women’s business.
If you have any questions about the types of services available, you can email us.
Where is care provided?
The types of flexible care available through the NATSIFACP vary depending on the service and your needs. All types of care can be provided to support day-to-day tasks to help you restore or maintain your independence.
Care can be provided flexibly according to your assessed need and may include care in your home, an aged care home or the community. It could include a range of services on a permanent (ongoing) basis or provide short-term (non-ongoing) help, or respite care on an emergency or planned basis in an aged care home or in the home or community.
Types of aged care services
Aged care homes
Aged care homes support you with everyday tasks, personal care and nursing care. They provide:
- accommodation – your room and all the things that come with it, such as your furniture, equipment and bedding
- a comfortable environment and surroundings – including access to the natural environment or outdoor access and bushland gardens, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts
- services to meet your day-to-day needs – meals, laundry, social and cultural activities, cleaning, heating and cooling, and upkeep of the grounds and building
- personal and clinical care – help with bathing, eating, medications and health treatments, and special bedding, nursing, speech therapy, podiatry (foot care) and physiotherapy.
Care in your home or community
Home is where you might feel most comfortable and be with family and friends. But as you get older, but you may need some extra help to stay at home.
Care in your home or community can be:
- clinical care – nursing, occupational therapy and podiatry
- independence – help with showering, taking medications, transport and respite care
- everyday living – cleaning, gardening, shopping and meal preparation.
- group activities – recreational activities such as bus trips, art and crafts, games, singing and dancing.
It also includes services that support culturally safe care, such as help to join in cultural activities, and access to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors, traditional healers and bush medicines.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program Manual
Aged care reforms and changes
A new regulatory model for aged care providers is part of the new Aged Care Act, starting from 1 November.
Under the new regulatory model, providers must meet requirements to ensure older people are at the centre of their aged care. For example, all providers must recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have connections to family, community and Country.
NATSIFACP providers will be regulated for the first time under the new regulatory model. This means providers must be registered with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. This is the same for other aged care providers.
While moving under the new Act, NATSIFAC providers will continue to be grant funded until at least 2027. Funding is provided under a “block funded” model which means payments are made at the beginning of each quarter, in advance of service delivery.
NATSIFAC providers will receive targeted support to understand and meet new requirements and obligations in transitioning to the new Act. This support will be provided over 2 years from 1 November 2025 by an independent, culturally safe organisation. It will be a suitably experienced organisation with comprehensive knowledge of the aged care system.
Fair Work Commission award wage increases
We continue to support the Fair Work Commission’s decisions on the Aged Care Work Value Case. Read about Fair Work Commission award wage increases.
Funding for NATSIFACP providers
NATSIFACP providers received an increase in grant funding from 1 March 2025 to support the latest round of wage increases for aged care nurses, which will be applied through a variation to their 2024–25 grant funding agreements.
The October 2025 and August 2026 increases are built into the operational funding for the new 2025–26 and 2026–27 grant agreements.
The 6 December 2024 decision on further award wage increases for aged care nurses is the Fair Work Commission’s final decision under the Aged Care Work Value Case. Previous Fair Work Commission award wage increases in this Work Value Case have already been applied.
Find out more about the award wage increase, or email us for more information.
How to apply for funding
We advertise funding rounds on Grant Connect. To get automatic emails about new grant listings, register as a Grant Connect user.
Further information about the entry pathway into the program is available within the NATSIFAC Manual.
Resources
Contact
