NATSIAACC has lodged a Submission to assist the Community Affairs References Committee and the Australian Government in strengthening the Support at Home Program. Together, these recommendations provide practical, evidence-based solutions to better align the Program with the intent of the Aged Care Act 2024 and improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and Older People.

We submit that Support at Home must be reshaped so its operational settings match its published intent. Culturally safe, trauma-aware and healing-informed models of care must be recognised and funded; structural barriers created by assessment, funding and co-contribution arrangements must be removed; access to care must be strengthened through more flexible service delivery; and regional, rural and remote communities must be supported through appropriate workforce investment and thin-market funding. The challenge is no longer establishing the vision for reform; it is ensuring that implementation delivers measurable outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and Older People.

Click here to download a copy of NATSIAACC’s submission