Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) 50 the Golden ...

Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG)

50th Annual Conference: “Ageing – the Golden Opportunity”

Communique:

Assuring Equity of Access and Quality Outcomes for

Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Access and equity for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was a key theme of AAG’s 50th

Annual Conference, held in Perth on November 7-10.

AAG is a membership-led organisation whose purpose is to improve the experience of ageing through

connecting research, policy and practice. Since 1964, AAG has been Australia's peak body linking

professionals working across the fields of ageing. The multidisciplinary membership includes

researchers, aged care leaders, geriatricians, nurses, allied health professionals, policy makers,

advocates for older people and others with expertise in ageing.

Ageing issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been an enduring interest for AAG,

and this year it focused particularly on aged care service delivery issues experienced by Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people. The evidence shows that due to poorer health and premature ageing,

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people need access to aged care services at a younger age than

other Australians. But despite their higher need, they are under-represented in aged care programs.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people often face barriers to access including lack of culturally

appropriate care and lack of service availability and choice. The aged care policy environment is

changing, with reforms including the introduction of consumer directed care, and it is important to

ensure that these reforms work well for the most vulnerable older people in our community, including

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

AAG’s 50th Annual Conference attracted more than 450 delegates, ranging from researchers to health

and aged care professionals, aged care providers, students, policy makers and community members.

The opening plenary session was strongly focused on ageing and aged care issues experienced by

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Dr Richard Walley OAM of the Wadjuk Noongar people provided an electrifying Welcome to Country,

complete with a didgeridoo performance. Richard set the scene by telling delegates, “Respect is our

greatest asset, no matter where we’re from or who we are.”

The opening keynote speech was provided by the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, Minister for Aged Care and

Minister for Indigenous Health. The Minister stressed the Government’s awareness of the diverse

AAG 2017 Conference Communique – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Page 2 of 3

needs of older people across Australia and an Aged Care Diversity Framework will be released in

December with an Action Plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to follow. Consultation

commenced on the Plan at the AAG Conference. He confirmed the Government’s commitment to

achieving equity of access by supporting the development and delivery of aged care services that are

innovative, flexible and targeted.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent 3.5% of the approaching 1,300 members of AAG.

AAG has a well-established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group that reports

directly to the Board, made up of 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and chaired by Mr

Mark Elliott. Mr Elliott spoke at the conference opening plenary session on “myths of Aboriginal

ageing”, focusing on two significant myths. The first was, “Aboriginal people don’t live long enough to

need aged care services… do they?” Mr Elliott conclusively debunked this myth, presenting data to show

that although Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a younger age profile and shorter

average life span than other Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is gradually

ageing, and already there are up to 144,000 people potentially eligible for aged care services.

The second myth was, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people don’t need specific targeted

services, they can just access mainstream services”. Mr Elliott noted that while Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander people can, and do, access mainstream services, this is often because they have no other

choice. Mr Elliott argued that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must have choice, and must

have the opportunity to access appropriate, holistic and culturally secure aged care services “that

respect our culture and our individual needs”. Respect is the overarching issue, according to Mr Elliott,

and is just as important for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in metropolitan areas as for

those in remote and rural areas.

Mr Elliott also reported to the full conference on the outcomes of a pre-conference workshop hosted by

the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group, looking at access and equity in aged

care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The workshop identified that the usual model of

aged care service provision is designed for a mainstream urban environment. Workshop participants

agreed that we need a greater number of targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care

services, and that mainstream aged care services need to be more culturally secure. The workshop also

identified the need for a more co-operative approach between service providers both within the aged

care sector, and between the aged care sector and other sectors such as health and disability – rather

than an approach based on competition. Appropriate workforce models and training were also seen as

critical, with the development of an Aboriginal aged care workforce identified as a high priority. The

workshop called for aged care accreditation to be based on measures of real quality, rather than simply

compliance; and for appropriate aged care assessment processes, including expanded training and

engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessors. There needs to be learning and

expansion of previously successfully developed service models such as on the APY lands and Looma.

A key “take home” message from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group

workshop was: “The person receiving care is the only person who can tell you whether it is a high

quality or culturally safe service.”

The opening plenary session also included presentations from other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

speakers including Professor Dawn Bessarab, Mr Graham Aitken, and Ms Gail Daylight, who outlined

ageing and aged care issues experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Western

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Australia, South Australia, and NSW respectively. The presentations were received with great interest

and enthusiasm.

The full conference program included 11 specialised presentations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

ageing issues, many of them from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and service delivery

personnel. These included a dedicated symposium on the first day, “Exploring the wellbeing of older

Aboriginal Australians and their caregivers”. The Conference also held the annual “Yarn Up” for

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other interested delegates to reflect on progress and discuss

future directions.

The focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ageing and aged care issues will continue, and AAG hopes

that this focus will influence relevant policy, programs, service delivery, and practice. The ultimate aim is to

ensure that our systems respond better to the evidence we have about the needs of older Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people, and that we continue to build the evidence base. During the 2017 AAG

Conference Minister Wyatt and his Department staff indicated their strong interest in furthering these

issues and their strong desire to meet with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group to

progress this issue in the near future.

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