The Department of Social Services has taken another step towards reducing the number of younger people living in residential aged care.
The Government has allocated $10.1 million to establish a national network to help younger people and their families find age-appropriate accommodation and additional support.
Minister for Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck said the aged care system was designed to best support the needs of senior Australians, not younger people.
Mr Colbeck said the national network of up to 40 Younger People in Residential Aged Care System Coordinators would ensure younger people in need of care could find support outside of the aged care environment.
He said the national network funding allocation illustrated the Government’s commitment to providing better options for what could be a deeply emotional and complex issue.
“We know the impact this can have on individuals and their families who have too often been left with no other choice,” Mr Colbeck said.
He said the Department’s Younger People in Residential Aged Care Strategy 2020–25, released in September, aimed to ensure nobody under the age of 65 entered residential aged care by the end of 2022; no one under the age of 45 was living in residential aged care by the end of 2022; and no one under the age of 65 was living in residential aged care by the end of 2025.
The Department’s 17-page Strategy can be accessed at this PS News link.
