Ministerial Conference on Ageing Communiqué

Commonwealth, state and territory Ministers responsible for the care of older Australians, together with the Australian Local Government Association, met in Melbourne at the second Ministerial Conference on Ageing.

The meeting was chaired by Minister for Senior Victorians, Lisa Neville, and coincided with a meeting of the Community and Disability Services Ministers Council.

The conference discussed the issue of transitional care places for older Australians, to assist them to retain their independence after a hospital stay.

Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, updated the conference on progress in establishing transition care places.

She said 186 of 228 places (82%) are now operational in South Australia, Victoria, NSW, Western Australia, the ACT and Queensland.

In addition, conference members agreed to:

• Move to strengthen the care for people in nursing homes with complex psychogeriatric conditions, and agreed to set up an Expert Reference Group to report to the Ministerial Conference for Ageing on residential care and people with psychogeriatric disorders;
• Further work and consultation with service providers on a model protocol, to assist clients who are socially isolated and do not respond to a scheduled visit by a service; 
• Develop options for national initiatives involving all levels of government working together to strengthen the social inclusion of older people. The conference was briefed on Victorian research into social inclusion and initiatives in other jurisdictions, to ensure older people remain active and connected to the community as they age, keeping them healthy and safe. The conference commended the work already underway in this area;
• Continue to discuss ways to work together to meet aged care planning needs in the context of the upcoming review of aged care planning ratios;
• Continue to discuss the aged care and disability programs and how to create more seamless care, especially for aged persons and persons with a disability.

In addition, the Northern Territory raised the important issue of the aged care needs of indigenous Australians.

Ministers agreed that this would be a priority item for examination at the next meeting of the Council.

The Federal Minister updated the conference on the $46.2 million Indigenous Aged Care Plan.