CLOSING THE GAP

1
Flexible ageing in
Nhulunbuy, NT
A new flexible aged care service
will be established in Nhulunbuy,
Northern Territory. The service
model will be co-designed with
aged care, health and disability
providers as well as the East Arnhem
community, ensuring a service
that meets community needs and
expectations. The community will
be encouraged to participate in all
aspects of service provision, from
planning through to the operation
of the service. The co-design model
was successfully used to establish
a flexible aged care service at
Mutitjulu, Northern Territory.
Dementia support
in Victoria
The Yarn Up About Dementia
project was a collaboration between
Alzheimer’s Australia Victoria and
the Gunditjmara communities of
Heywood, Portland and Hamilton.
The project created an educational
music and dance performance to
educate young Aboriginal people
about dementia both to reduce
their risk and improve their attitudes
toward community members with
dementia. The resource is used by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Health Workers to encourage
risk-reduction behaviours.
La Perouse aged care
alliance in NSW
Members of the La Perouse
Aboriginal Alliance, established as
part of Empowered Communities,
identified an Aboriginal-operated
residential aged care facility as a
priority for their region. There are no
Aboriginal run aged care facilities
in inner Sydney meaning that older
people either stay at home and are
cared for by their families or they
travel off country and away from
their families to Kempsey or Nowra.
“We have been talking for many
years about being able to take
care of our Elders on our own
country. The opportunity is here
now and we are all working
together to make it happen” said
Karen Cooley, General Manager of
Guriwal Aboriginal Corporation.
The proposed aged care facility will
offer community-based and culturally
appropriate residential aged
care services for the Indigenous
community as well as training
for Indigenous care workers.
The Guriwal Aboriginal Corporation
will work together with other
Indigenous organisations to establish
the community-based facility, with
land identified by the La Perouse Local
Aboriginal Land Council and support
offered from Wyanga Aboriginal
Aged Care in Redfern and Kurranualla
Aboriginal Corporation in Sutherland.
Collaborative approach
to school nutrition in
Lajamanu, NT 1
In Lajamanu, a school nutrition
project ensures children have access
to regular, healthy meals. The project
is a result of community members
prioritising what is important in their
community. While the Northern
Territory Government funds staff and
kitchen equipment, the community
has agreed to use mining royalties to
pay for the food. It is an example of
what can be achieved if people have
a say in the programs, priorities and
activities that will improve their lives.
•92• CLOSING THE GAP: PRIME MINISTER'S REPORT 2017