First Nations Aged Care Assessments

Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are able to receive aged care assessments now, via the Single Assessment System.

About First Nations assessments

First Nations assessment organisations will provide older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people:

an improved assessment experience
increased support to maintain at-home independence for longer
more choice when seeking culturally safe aged care assessment.

First Nations assessments will also aim to increase the uptake of aged care services for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This pathway will grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce. The organisations will help older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their families and carers, access aged care services across urban, regional and remote Australia.

Assessment services

First Nations assessment organisations will connect with an older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person in their service areas. Assessors will either be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, or trained to be culturally safe, trauma aware and healing informed by the First Nations Organisation.

First Nations assessment organisations will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by:

taking a less formal yarning approach to assessments
doing face-to-face assessments, where possible
connecting with the local community with their knowledge of local services and culture
allowing for multiple visits, if required, to build trust and develop a relationship
minimising the need for the older person to re-tell their story multiple times
providing interpreting services, when needed
welcoming the presence of the older person's family member, or advocate, to be part of the meetings
gathering information about the older person’s health and wellbeing to understand the aged care services they need.

Timeline

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment pathway will commence on 1 July 2025. The rollout will begin with a small number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.

Before then, we are starting to test the processes with some existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to inform the approach and get ready.

Over time, the service will extend its reach and work towards covering more areas across Australia.

Until a First Nations service is available in their area, older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can receive aged care needs assessments through the existing Single Assessment System. All assessors under the existing System have undertaken cultural safety awareness training.

Registering a preference for a First Nations assessment organisation

Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can now register their preference to receive an aged care assessment from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation when they:

register with My Aged Care via phone
talk to an assessment organisation directly.

The ability for an older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person to register their preference on their My Aged Care web page (or with the support of an ECS worker or Care finder), will commence in July 2025.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisations will be phased in at different times and locations around the country.

If a First Nations assessment organisation isn’t available yet, Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can receive an aged care assessment from any organisation in the Single Assessment System,
- This will ensure a timely assessment of their care needs.
- This process can be supported by an Elder Care Support worker, if available and required.
If an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation is established in their area and a review of their care is needed, they will have the choice to transfer to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation for their next assessment.

We are collecting data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s preferences for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation before organisations are available in all regions This is one way to help us understand where demand for services is and to raise awareness of the service in the community.

Why it is important?

Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience barriers to accessing aged care services, which can prevent them from receiving the care they need.

First Nations assessment organisations will work with other local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations such as:

Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs)
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCOs)
Elder Care Support program.

They will work together to help older people engage safely with the aged care system and help identify what support they need.

This will:

encourage more older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to access aged care services
empower older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to decide on the care they need and receive.

How to become an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation?

The rollout will be phased and intentional in building in time to truly learn from each experience and prior phase to get it right.

A small number of existing assessment organisations will commence in July 2025.
Organisations who are new to assessment will commence in the months following.
This will be achieved through various procurement opportunities in 2025-2026.

The approaches to market to select suitable organisations will be published on Austender, promoted in advance and will allow time for interested organisations to ask questions.

We will work with existing ACCOs, ACCHOs, and organisations that specialise in providing aged care services to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to scale this initiative up nationally.

Further information will be available soon, including:

more information on timeframe
the requirements to become a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation
how existing providers must manage conflicts of interest to become an assessment organisation.

Who we work with

We have partnered with an advisory group to implement the First Nations Assessment pathway, including:

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing and Aged Care Council
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
National Indigenous Australians Agency.

We also have additional partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations who provide advice and feedback on behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

More information

More detailed information on the rollout will be available in early 2025.

Contact

For more information, email firstnationsagedcareassessment@health.gov.au

Sub menu