Our friends at HANZA recently met Ken Wyatt, the Minister for Aged Care in Australia, to make the case for homesharing to be recognised as a ‘proper’ service for older people and people living with disabilities. Currently homesharing is not listed as a service in personal care plans and because it’s not listed, it isn’t available for people to purchase. The challenge was not only to get homesharing listed but also how to put a price on a service that isn’t being delivered by the hour. The meeting in Canberra covered the barriers to getting homesharing included on that list.
Ken Wyatt is very keen on services where “people look out for one another” and so was delighted to receive the delegation which included representatives from Victoria and New South Wales. The Minister’s closing remarks highlighted the importance of keeping the discussion going and the group will re-convene in the New Year 2018 to review progress.
We have invited Beris Campbell to prepare a report on influencing policy that could be shared with other members of the HI Network.
