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Community care in rural and regional areas
Just because you’re living in a rural or remote area shouldn’t mean that you’re isolated from community services. To make sure that rural and urban Australians experience comparable levels of services, the Australian Government has introduced many services and programs specially for remote or rural areas:
- regional health services, providing access to primary health services in over 900 rural communities
- more allied health services, providing additional health services, such as mental health workers, social workers, podiatrists, physiotherapists and dieticians
- the Medical Specialist Outreach Assistance Program (MSOAP) to increase access to specialist medical services
- programs that support the recruitment and retention of doctors in rural areas
- programs to support rural private hospitals and aged care service providers
- access to higher Medicare rebates when visiting Rural Other Medical Practitioners (doctors who have not yet received vocational registration).
Short-term care
There are Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres (more information) located in cities and rural and remote areas across Australia. They can help to arrange respite care if your carer needs a break, including 24-hour emergency respite cover. For information contact 1800 200 422 during business hours or, for emergency respite support outside standard business hours, call 1800 059 059.Read more: About short-term care
Home and Community Care (HACC) Program
The Home and Community Care (HACC) Program aims to provide you with a basic range of maintenance and support services to help you stay at home. The services are provided by government, community, privately, and by church or charitable organisations throughout Australia, including rural and regional areas. Services offered by HACC include:- nursing care such as help with incontinence
- home help, including housework, washing and shopping
- home maintenance and modification
- personal care, such as help with bathing, dressing and eating
- meals on wheels and day centre-based meals
- ancillary health services like podiatry and speech therapy
- community-based respite care (day care)
- transport
- assessment and/or referral services
- counselling, information and advocacy services
- social support (including neighbour aid), and
- carer support.
The future
The Australian Government will continue to provide capital grants and viability funding for smaller rural and remote aged care homes, providing older Australians and their families with access to high-quality residential aged care (more information) in their own communities.Common questions on this topic:
- Mum lives in a rural area. How can I get a podiatrist for her?
- My elderly mother has come to live with me on my farm. She needs help with showering, dressing and other personal care. I am away from the house most of the day - can we get help with these things even though we are a few hours drive from the nearest town?
See all common questions