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Victorian Government Website (Victoria the Place to Be)
Department of Human Services, State Government of Victoria, Australia
Subsite title

Aged Care Branch

Director: Jane Herington
Enquiries: Tel (61 3) 9096 7389
Email: aged.care@dhs.vic.gov.au

The role of the Aged Care Branch is to plan, fund and monitor services for older people, people with a functional disability and the carers of both target groups.

Demand for aged care services is expected to continue to increase due to the combined effect of:

  • People living longer with a greater proportion of time spent in retirement, resulting in steady growth in the state’s older population and a significant increase in people who are 80 plus years of age.
  • An increase in the number of people with dementia, cognitive and other functional disabilities.
  • Implications of policy and practice changes in related programs such as the Commonwealth’s structural reform of residential aged care services, increased use of day procedures, shorter lengths of stay in acute health environments and changing post acute discharge practices coupled with technological advances.

The Government’s aged care agenda is focused on addressing the special needs of older Victorians and ensuring policies and programs recognise and reflect the diversity of older people’s lives. This includes:

  • Providing access to good quality, appropriate services when they are needed.
  • Providing services to enable older people to remain living independently in their own homes.
  • Encouraging participation of older people in making decisions about policies and programs which affect them.
  • Upgrading State government nursing homes to Commonwealth standards.

Policy developments have facilitated reduced lengths of stay in high cost acute settings. The focus has now shifted to the funding of more appropriate community and home based services which foster recovery, improvement and maintenance of individual health status.

Emphasis is being placed on improving access to the service system so people can get the full range of services they need. All older Victorians will receive individual care plans upon discharge from hospital. These will outline the services and supports they will receive upon returning home.

This year the government is:

  • Providing extra funding to upgrade nursing homes to acceptable Commonwealth standards and has ceased the privatisation of State owned aged care facilities.
  • Making available additional funding to programs such as Home and Community Care (HACC) to assist older people to continue living in their own homes and participate in community life.
  • Increasing funding to community rehabilitation centres so that they can provide additional physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and social work.
  • Developing a coordinated approach to palliative care, in partnership with the Commonwealth Government.

The Aged Care Branch has responsibility for:

  • Aged care policy
  • Nursing homes and hostels program and planning
  • Supported Residential Services
  • Dementia care
  • Health Promotion, including falls prevention
  • Accommodation and support for older people with complex needs
  • Management of Personal Alert Victoria