AHA worked closely with the Department to review the national CALD and LGBTI ageing and aged care strategies. The review was completed within six weeks, and is part of ongoing sector-wide reforms designed to increase individuals’ choice and control over the services they receive.

Two strategies were developed and released by the Australian Government, to ensure ageing and aged care services are sensitive to and inclusive of the needs of LGBTI and CALD people, their families and carers:

• The National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Ageing and Aged Care Strategy
  
• The National Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Ageing and Aged Care Strategy
  

The strategies were to be reviewed at the end of their five-year implementation period, in order to inform the development of a broader, overarching Aged Care Diversity Framework.  The Department invited stakeholders to provide feedback on each of the strategies via online surveys and written submissions.

AHA was appointed to analyse this feedback and review the implementation of the strategies. With six weeks to complete the review, AHA’s deep familiarity with the aged care sector, along with our track record of reliably delivering high-quality reviews in tight timeframes, made us an ideal choice for the Department to partner with.

The reports identify the actions taken to implement the principles and goals of each strategy, and consider the success of the strategies – and opportunities for improvement – from the perspective of stakeholders.  These reports provide the Department with a high-quality evidence base to ensure the Aged Care Diversity Framework and other policies are appropriate, effective, and meet stakeholder’s needs.

To produce these reports, AHA collected, analysed and synthesised a large volume of information from different sources.  AHA’s background and experience meant we ‘hit the ground running’ and were able to successfully complete the projects and reports within the short timeframe required.  AHA used a proven methodology to:

• Conduct a literature review to contextualise each strategy
• Collate data from online surveys and written submissions
• Conduct focus groups to explore stakeholders’ views in further detail
• Analyse and synthesise the data from all sources, triangulating to ensure robust conclusions
• Prepare a report detailing the key strengths and weakness of the strategies, and identify opportunities for improvement in the Aged Care Diversity Framework
• Consult with the respective LGBTI and CALD working groups and incorporate their feedback into the final reports.

Following completion of this work, in December 2017 the Australian Government released Australia’s latest Aged Care Diversity Framework, signalling a new, more inclusive era in aged care.