A long-time nurse has been celebrated for bringing palliative care to the fore in Australia's aged and healthcare system. RSL LifeCare resident 89-year-old Teresa Plane became NSW Senior Australian of the Year 2023 this month for her outstanding efforts in ...
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Call for gender-neutral policies for unpaid carers: Q&A
A global review has highlighted the urgent need for gender-neutral policies to protect the mental health of unpaid female carers. Researchers from the University of Melbourne looked at nearly 140,000 records worldwide and found that unpaid caregiving negatively affected mental ...
More »AI funding to upgrade quality in aged sector
Australia's major scientific research organisation has granted researchers from Victoria University over a million dollars to speed up the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in aged care. CSIRO's funding will go to five PhD projects looking to reduce falls and ...
More »Guide fights ageism through language
An advocacy group has released a manual for aged care workers to help reduce the impact of ageism on residents. The guide from EveryAGE Counts hopes to assist workers in preventing and addressing ageist attitudes affecting older people through language. Ageism is ...
More »No third booster for residents amid fifth wave
Australians, including vulnerable groups, will not be asked to roll up their sleeves for a fifth Covid-19 vaccine just yet, Health Minister Mark Butler says. On the backdrop of a spike in cases across the country, Butler said ATAGI had ...
More »Project uses pets to curtail loneliness in aged care
A new programme is exploring how human-animal interactions can scale down loneliness and social isolation in older people and those from intergenerational and intercultural backgrounds. Researchers in the pilot study 'Pets and People' use domesticated animals, including dogs, birds and ...
More »OPAN pushes for law to stop abuse in aged care: Q&A
The nation's top advocacy group for older people has called for new laws to give aged care residents more power over the care they receive. The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) released a position paper last week highlighting how substituted decision-making can ...
More »Age and veteran pensioners get $4,000 boost
Age and veterans pensioners will soon be able to work more without it affecting their Centrelink payments. It comes after amendments were moved in the House of Representatives this week which will extend the $4000 boost through to December 31st ...
More »Ageism may be driving homelessness numbers up: podcast
A manager of an aged care provider has said ageist attitudes may be behind the rising number of homelessness among older people. NSW has followed Victoria in putting forward recommendations to address the 42 per cent increase of homelessness among ...
More »Aged care pay rise leaves ‘questions unanswered’
While the majority of the aged care industry has welcomed the interim decision to raise wages by 15 per cent, sector advocates want more emphasis on recruitment and a pay rise for all staff employed in the sector. Last Friday, ...
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