As the new Aged Care Act nears implementation, Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson (pictured) says it’s time to start talking about what comes next.
At the 2025 LEADERS SUMMIT and in a recent interview with SATURDAY, Tom revealed that Ageing Australia has spent the past six to 12 months working on a new project: the ‘Continuum of Ageing’.
He explains that members support older Australians from home care to retirement living, residential care, and palliative care – but these are still treated as disconnected services.
“We need to talk about them as a whole system,” he says.
Tom also wants to see stronger connections across aged care, health, and disability services.
“How do we get better at interacting with the hospital system? How do we get better at interacting with the disability system?
“How do we make states and local councils and even the Federal Government see retirement living as a positive, not something that they hold up in a council planning committee for two years because they don’t really understand it. That’s what we want to start talking about.”
He stresses the importance of addressing loneliness and disengagement later in life.
“People have had these incredibly active, socially and physically active lives, and they end up disconnected because they can't drive anymore. Their families might have moved away, or their partners passed away.”
He warns that services like Meals on Wheels and social engagement must not be lost in the shift to Support at Home: “as this menu-based option with no block funding and all of these important services fall over.”
Ultimately, he says, “we’ve got to make sure that social connection is there,” and that communities – not just providers – lead the conversation.
“If we’re going to get aged care (and ageing) really taken seriously… it’s the community representing itself and saying we will vote for candidates who tell us aged care is important.”
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