Completed for the CEACA and the Wheatbelt Development Commission (2012-13)
This project, based in Western Australia, arose from an alliance of 11 Central East Wheatbelt local governments (CEACA) and aimed to develop a holistic regional solution to allow ageing residents to remain in the region for as long as possible, within the context of Federal and State Government policy and reform initiatives.
The initial project steering committee comprised shire and sub-regional representatives and members of the Wheatbelt Development Commission and Regional Development Australia (Wheatbelt), WA Country Health and Medicare Locals.
This project and its steering committee was subsequently expanded to cover the development of integrated aged care solutions for all 43 local government areas in the Wheatbelt region and included the development of an Aboriginal Aged Care Framework. [LINK]
The process of community engagement, education and feedback was central to the project. Over 850 individuals and organisations participated in the community forums held in each shire during the course of the project. National and international literature regarding contemporary best-practice aged care was examined, along with the implications of aged care reforms announced in 2011-12.
The project resulted in over forty individual shire-level needs studies, seven sub-regional needs studies and a comprehensive Wheatbelt Integrated Aged Care Plan developed with reference to current and projected demographic trends.
Media
- The outcomes of this work continue to be lauded as a major initiative in aged care planning, both nationally and internationally. In 2016 the Wheatbelt Development Commission has been recognised by the International Federation of Ageing Secretary General, Dr Jane Barrett, as implementing perhaps the largest scope of aged care initiatives in the world. Click to read more: http://www.wheatbelt.wa.gov.au/news/wheatbelt-world-leader-aged-care/
- Click here to read ‘In Search of New Models for Rural Australia’, an article from the Australian Ageing Agenda’s May-June 2016 issue (PDF). The article includes commentary from Verso Managing Director Doug Faircloth and Wheatbelt Development Commission CEO Wendy Newman.