On the eve of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, a group of UTS students working as part of UTS Shopfront, teamed up with SEVA International, a not-for-profit peak body focusing on the needs of the rapidly expanding Australian South Asian community in Sydney. Together they produced the report Considering Culture: Australian Aged Care Service Design and South Asian Communities.
The report highlights the gap between the demand for culturally appropriate aged care facilities and the systems that provide these services.
In the Cumberland, Parramatta and Blacktown regions of Western Sydney alone, the South Asian community makes up 14 per cent of the total population. However, this area of Sydney has only two providers offering culturally appropriate aged care services specific to this group.
More generally, older people in Australia seeking aged care services – whether in the home or externally – speak a variety of languages, have diverse dietary needs and preferences, and follow a range of spiritual practices, particularly when it comes to end-of-life decision making. These needs are often not well catered for.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety presents a new opportunity to consider the state of culturally appropriate aged care in Australia, with a number of recommendations addressing the changing demographics and preferences of older people.
On top of this, recent policy changes have created space for a conversation around how culturally appropriate aged care should be legislated for and funded. Policy documents, such as the Aged Care Diversity Framework and the Aged Care Quality Standards, mandate a framework for including the CALD community in the aged care sector but lack specific funding mechanisms outside the Aged Care Approval Rounds to ensure they are met.
The students’ findings in the report indicated several steps that could be taken to address exclusion in the aged care sector and the growing need for culturally appropriate services.
Additional resources should be targeted towards South Asian community members aged between 55 and 64 living in Cumberland, Parramatta and Blacktown regions, and efforts should be put towards understanding and supporting cultural considerations of post-life practices, including funeral services that consider specific cultural and religious sensitivities.
Assisted living options could be improved with cultural sensitivity in mind, including in-home services such as nursing and respite care, community transport, and home help with everyday living and community care, which includes shared facilities and services (such as recreation facilities).
Further research could be undertaken in this region and in other local government areas, including Liverpool and Campbelltown, where the South Asian community comprises 18 per cent of the total population.
Given the multicultural nature of Australian society, cultural considerations should be at the heart of service planning in the aged care sector.