New plan and funding to look after elderly Australians living alone

A new national protocol for community care service providers has been proposed aimed at reducing the number of frail older Australians dying alone at home and reducing delays until deaths are discovered.

The protocol was put forward by Federal Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot at the inaugural meeting of the Ministerial Conference on Ageing held on the NSW North Coast, bringing together the nation’s ministers for ageing.

Some 783,000 (29%) of people 65 years and older lived alone in private dwellings in 2006, with the percentage increasing to 39% among those aged 85 years and over.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) projections (Series II) suggest that, by 2026, about 907,000 people aged 75 years and over will be living alone, most of them older women (685,600).

State and territory governments will consult on the draft protocol with an aim for it to be implemented in August 2008.

Mrs Elliot has also announced a one-off allocation of $4.2 million to 21 community organisations to support programs combating social isolation as well as providing emergency meals, shelter and clothing to frail older people.

The one off funding offers include:

• funding of up to $500,000 to Anglicare Australia to provide services that support social re-engagement, including $300,000 to undertake research and pilot projects that support participation of socially isolated older people in the community;
• funding of up to $150,000 to the ACH Group to commence a program to address high level isolation amongst older people living in the community; and
• grants of up to $500,000 to the Salvation Army, Uniting Care and the Benevolent Society.