As part of the Federal Government’s response to the Aged Care Royal Commission, a national Care Finder program has begun to roll out which will provide 500 care finders across the country.
Through its involvement in the Aged Care System Navigator trial, which came to an end in December 2022, COTA Victoria has been instrumental in the development of what has become Care Finders. COTA Victoria supported 674 individuals across the Eastern and Southern Metro regions of Melbourne and the region of Bendigo. Over the past 4 years, COTA Victoria navigators became skilled at translating complex administrative language and concepts. Workers assisted trial customers not only to register with My Aged Care but continued supporting them to select and set up their aged care services.
In partnership with Primary Health Networks the aim of the Care Finder program is to connect with and engage older people who have significant difficulty accessing aged care services and are at risk of “falling through the cracks”. There will be multiple Care Provider organisations operating across Victoria and COTA Victoria will be focusing on the City of Kingston.
The Care Finder target population is older people who are eligible for aged care services and have one or more reasons for requiring intensive support to:
- interact with My Aged Care and access aged care services and/or
- access other relevant supports in the community
Reasons for requiring intensive support may include, but is not limited to:
- Isolation or no support person.
- Communication barriers, including limited literacy skills.
- Difficulty processing information to make decisions.
- Resistance or hesitance to engage with aged care, institutions, or government for any reason.
- Their safety is at risk, or they may end up in a crisis situation.
A list of the Care Finder Providers operating throughout Victoria can be found on the My Aged Care website.