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Rural and regional areas overview
Just because you’re living in a rural or remote area shouldn’t mean that you’re isolated from aged care services. To make sure that rural Australians experience comparable levels of services to people living in cities, 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 general practitioners in rural areas
- programs to support rural private hospitals and aged care service providers, and
- 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 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: home nursing, domiciliary nursing, assistance with continence management, all in your own home
- 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
- information and advocacy services
- social support (including neighbour aid), and
- carer support.
Read more: About the Home and Community Care program
Aged care homes
There are aged care homes in a large number of smaller country centres. The types of services offered in your area depend on the needs of local communities.Multi-Purpose Services (more information) is designed specifically for rural and regional areas, and brings together a range of health and aged care services (for example, hospitals, community services, family support and aged care).
Read more: About Multi-Purpose Services
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:
- My grandmother can't speak English and I have to go to hospital for an operation. Is there somewhere that she can have respite care where she can be understood? How can I find it?
- Mum lives in a rural area. How can I get a podiatrist for her?
- Palliative care - if Mum is in pain, can it be eased?
See more common questions on this topic | See all common questions