For Country to Coast Home Care Services, caring for older people has always meant more than delivering services in the home.
It also means speaking up when the system designed to support seniors is not working as well as it could.
The locally owned Surf Coast provider is taking its advocacy from the local community to Canberra, after being invited to attend an upcoming event bringing together senior government representatives and aged care leaders.
Country to Coast Managing Director and Founder, Lucy Lincoln said the invitation was an important opportunity to ensure voices are heard as Australia’s new Support at Home program continues to take shape.
“We see every day what these reforms look like on the ground, not just on paper,” Ms Lincoln said.
“We will take what we are hearing from participants, families and our team – and make sure those experiences reach the people who make the decisions.”
Country to Coast’s advocacy continues at local, state, and national levels, including writing to Federal Member for Corangamite, Libby Coker MP to raise concerns about the practical impact of Support at Home on Surf Coast seniors, which was forwarded to the Minister.
“We are particularly concerned about people reducing or delaying services because of contributions towards the cost of some types of care, along with increasing complexity within the system,” Ms Lincoln said.
“Reduced service use should never automatically be interpreted as reduced need. When someone decides to go without support because they are worried about affordability or confused about what they can access, we all need to pay attention to that.”
Country to Coast will also raise concerns about the program’s increased administration and compliance requirements, workforce pressures, and the longer-term sustainability of delivering quality in-home care.
Ms Lincoln said investment in good care management and early support at home should be viewed in the context of keeping people well, and independent for longer.
“There is a real risk of creating a false economy if we make it harder to provide preventative support,” she said.
“If someone misses out on the right support early on, the consequences can be much bigger later – for the individual, their family and the wider health and aged care systems.”
For a provider operating exclusively on the Surf Coast, being invited into a national conversation is significant.
“We may be a regional provider, but we will keep advocating because the people we support deserve representation and a voice – their lives and families are already being impacted,” Ms Lincoln said.
“Ultimately, this is about making sure people can access quality care, retain their independence, and remain connected to the communities they love. And we all deserve a system that helps us do that.”