Aged care matters

It’s a real privilege to join Pip at the National Roundtable on Aged and Community Care for Forgotten Australians. We meet each month on Zoom with a dedicated group of support workers and Care Leavers from around Australia to discuss issues Care Leavers face when accessing My Aged Care packages and other topics about ageing. We’re often joined by representatives from the Department of Health. I’ve picked up lots of ideas and also had the chance to contribute to a video for Global Community Resourcing in Queensland and do a podcast interview for the Real Care Second Time Around project, developed by Elm Place in Adelaide and the Canberra Institute of Technology. This project will soon provide an online Accreditation course for Aged Care workers where they are required to watch video’s, listen to podcasts and complete an assessment about Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations and how to work with Care Leavers. It’s a significant breakthrough and I look forward to the launch so we can share this resource with everyone at Tuart Place. It will be a real game changer for aged care staff and for us. Meeting up with others around Australia has highlighted how lucky we are to have Tuart Place. It also gives Pip and me a chance to let people around Australia know that, although we’re not a ‘Find & Connect’ service, we always need to be included in national discussions. The roundtable is hosted by Anne Livingstone from Global Community Resourcing in Brisbane. Among their projects, they explore creative ways to help Care Leavers use Smart Technology. Their website, www.satcommunity.com.au has loads of information. If you want a laugh, have a look at this video about smart technology and how one person adapted it to suit his lifestyle: https://vimeo.com/128873380

with Margo O’Byrne

Top Ten Questions to ask when looking for residential aged care

A new resource is available to assist Care Leavers/Forgotten Australians looking for aged care accommodation, by listing some key questions to ask service providers. This brochure is a guide for Care Leavers to ask those questions that matter to them when making decisions about residential accommodation. The resource was developed by Meg Schwartz and Fran Lovell of The Real Care Second Time Around Project, in collaboration with Forgotten Australians/Care Leavers. The brochure will also assist the aged sector to better understand and engage with older people who have lived experience of out-of-home care, and will be included as a link in the Canberra Institute of Technology’s

More than half a million children were placed in institutional and out-of-home care under various arrangements in the last century. ‘Care Leavers’ may also be known as ‘Forgotten Australians’, ‘Former Child Migrants’ or ‘Stolen Generations’. Many in this group experienced control, abuse, had their basic rights taken from them and have significant anxieties about entering aged care.

Helping Hand Aged Care Program Manager Fran Lovell and Project Officer Meg Schwarz.

new e-training module about Care Leavers. This resource will also be circulated throughout the aged care sector by the Commonwealth Department of It is your right to ask Health’s Aged Care and Diversity Section, and will be available to all aged care organisations that support Care Leav-This brochure has been prepared by ers. The Top 10 Questions brochure is now available on Helping Hand’s Real Care the Second the Helping Hand Aged Care website: helpinghand.org.au/Time Around Project Team and informed wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Brochure-FA-ten-questions. by Forgotten Australians / Care Leavers pdfinvolved in this project. A further resource published recently by Helping Hand, Practical Tips for Aged Care Providers to Engage This guide will help Forgotten with Forgotten Australians, will help aged care providers Australians / Care Leavers to ask the engage with dignity and respect with Forgotten Australians/ questions that are important to them. Care Leavers. It is a wonderful and useful companion to the Top Ten Brochure, and is also available to download from It may be useful for: the website: http://helpinghand.org.au/about-us/diversity-• Comparing services between inclusion/forgotten-australians/residential aged care homes • Reviewing your current residential

National Roundtable on Aged and Community

Care for Forgotten Australians

Promoting a national discussion on improved models of aged and community care for people who were in out-of-home care during childhood

The National Roundtable on Aged and Community Care for Forgotten Australians continues to meet monthly (via Zoom) to discuss and share how aged care services can be tailored and improved to ensure that Care Leavers gain better access and more appropriate services as they age. The Roundtable commenced in 2019 after a successful forum on Aged and Community Care at Wattle Place in Sydney. Membership includes Forgotten Australians/Care Leavers, specialist service providers, mainstream aged care providers, researchers, and individuals - all passionate to ensure that aged and community services are more individualised, responsive, and of the highest possible quality. Tuart Place has been part of the Roundtable since mid-2020. Recent discussions have included the impact of Redress payments on aged care entitlements; the Aged Care Royal Commission; aged care reform; and presentations by researchers and academics such as Adele Chynoweth and Dee Michell. The National Roundtable is convened by Anne Livingstone of Global Community Resourcing. For further information please contact Anne at anne@communityresourcing.com.au

Anne Livingstone

Aged Care Royal Commission delivers Final Report

The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was tabled in Parliament on 1st March 2021.

A total of 11 submissions specifically focus on issues affecting Care Leavers. Forgotten Australians, members of the Stolen Generations, and Former Child Migrants are identified as a ‘Special Needs’ group known as ‘Care Leavers’ under the Aged Care Act. This recognises the risk of re-traumatisation for older people who experienced childhood trauma, abuse and neglect in institutional settings. Tuart Place’s submission was prepared by Margo O’Byrne and Dale Lynch, in consultation with other Care Leavers and Tuart Place staff. It is available at http://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/ AWF.001.04093.00_001.pdf Of the 124 recommendations made in the Royal Commission’s Final Report, around 19 involve changes that would positively affect Care Leavers (and others accessing aged care services). The Royal Commission provided an opportunity to raise awareness of the experiences, needs and concerns of Care Leavers accessing aged care services, and to ensure they are included in future planning and re-design of Australia’s aged care system. Many individuals, organisations and groups such as the National Roundtable on Aged and Community Care for Forgotten Australians continue to advocate for an aged care system in which Care Leavers feel safe, respected, heard and supported by aged care service providers and staff. The Commission’s Final Report is available at http:// agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/final-report

Do you need help now you are getting older?

Are you confused by the number of aged care agencies and programs?

Do you need support to access aged care services?

Have you tried before and have not been successful? Perhaps you feel overwhelmed by the My Aged Care application process. If so, Advocare can help. Advocare is an independent, community-based, not-for-profit organisation that supports and protects the rights of older West Australians through information, advocacy and education. Advocare assists older people to understand their rights, to make informed choices, and to resolve any issues they have with aged and home care services. Advocare can help people aged 65+ (and Aboriginal people aged 50+) who want help to understand, choose and access aged care services. Taryn is a ‘Specialist Adocate’ with Adovcare and is also interested in hearing about people’s experiences when they have contacted My Aged Care. For free, confidential information and support you can contact Taryn on 0427 732 515 or email tarynh@advocare.org.au