First Nations peaks demand urgent aged care action

11 organisations representing First Nations people are calling on the Government to “urgently progress” Aged Care Royal Commission recommendations.

Five years after the recommendations were published, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing and Aged Care Council (NATSIAACC), along with 10 other First Nations health and aged care organisations, says many of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-specific recommendations remain “incomplete, delayed or stalled”.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and Older People continue to experience an aged care system that was not designed with their lived experiences, cultural needs, realities or aspirations at its centre,” the statement said.

Key points of the six-page statement include:

• The Government should replace the interim commissioner role with a permanent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner. Andrea Kelly resigned after two-and-half years in the Interim role (Recommendation 49).
• Establish a dedicated, co-designed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care pathway to make aged care access, assessment and services culturally safe, trusted and connected to community and Country (Recommendation 47).
• Embed measurable cultural safety requirements across the aged care system (Recommendation 48).
• Strengthen and sustain Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) delivering aged care.
• Develop a dedicated First Nations aged care workforce strategy aligned with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan 2021–2031
• The statement added that First Nations people’s access to aged care services are being limited by co-payments, digital barriers, workforce shortages, inconsistent redress exemptions, and culturally unsafe navigation processes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in January announced Ozcare was to build and operate the $60 million Northern Territory aged care home of up to 150 beds in Palmerston, 25km east of Darwin’s centre.

In March, The Weekly SOURCE reported on the Purrkanaitya Aboriginal Elder Village in Bedford Park, 10km from the Adelaide CBD.

In October last year, Uniting NSW. ACT said it will plan and build the 50-bed aged care home to be operated by Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care in Redfern, Sydney.

In conclusion, the statement by the 11 organisations says continued delays in implementing the Royal Commission recommendations risks embedding settings before culturally safe reforms are implemented, a result that could limit “equitable outcomes” for Aboriginal and First Nations people.