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Aged care in rural and regional areas
Older Australians, regardless of where they live, should have access to health and aged care services when they need it. The Aged Care Act 1997 recognises people who live in rural and remote areas as one of the five special needs groups.
There are aged care homes in numerous small country areas where the type of services provided depends on the needs of the local community. The aged care planning process ensures that aged care places are provided in regional, rural and remote areas in proportion to the number of older people who live there. Around one third of aged care places are currently located in rural and regional Australia.
The Australian Government has initiated programs that have a particular focus on assisting with the provision of services in communities outside of metropolitan areas. This is in recognition of the difficulties faced by providers in rural and remote areas where there are small populations and higher delivery costs.
The Multi-Purpose Services Program is a joint Australian and state/territory government initiative specifically designed for rural and regional areas. The aim of the program is to provide a coordinated and cost-effective delivery of health services where separate health and aged care services may not be viable. Australian Government funding for flexible aged care (more information) is combined with state government health services funding. The multi-purpose service applies this combined funding flexibly across health and aged care services to offer more service choices specific to the needs of the local community and to be innovative in service delivery. Services provided could include:
- aged care, both residential and home care
- Home and Community Care (HACC) (more information) services including community nursing, domestic assistance and meals on wheels
- respite care (more information)
- acute care
- emergency services
- mental health services
- a range of allied health services (more information) including physiotherapy (more information) and podiatry (more information).
For more information about aged care call 1800 200 422.
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?
- Palliative care - if Mum is in pain, can it be eased?
- What is a hospice?
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