National LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Strategy
National LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Strategy – your chance to have a say!!
GRAI and other LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) advocacy groups have worked hard over the last few years to ensure that LGBTI issues are included in ageing strategies for Australia. Submissions to the Productivity Commission Ageing Australia inquiry which helped inform the government’s aged care reform agenda have for the first time included LGBTI issues. There is now the opportunity to progress this work. Your input is now sought to help improve ageing and aged care for LGBTI people. If you are:
- An LGBTI person, or
- The carer, family member or friend of an older LGBTI person, or
- A worker from an LGBTI community organisation or an aged care service provider, or
- An academic, policy maker or government employee with an interest in LGBTI ageing and aged care,
then we want to hear from you!
The Australian Government is currently reforming the aged care sector. For the first time, the unique concerns and challenges faced by older LGBTI people are being recognised, and the Government is developing a national LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Strategy to help ensure that the needs of older LGBTI people are met.
The Department of Health and Ageing has contracted the National LGBTI Health Alliance to hold broad public consultations throughout the country to feed into this Strategy, to ensure that your voice is heard during this process. This presents an exciting opportunity to express your thoughts on LGBTI ageing and aged care, and to influence future government policy in the area. The draft strategy is attached.
There are two ways you can get involved:
Come along to Perth consultation on Friday 19 October at the Oxford Hotel, 368 Oxford Street Leederville from 10am to 2pm (it is worth coming even if you can only drop in for an hour). See the attached flyer or visit http://www.lgbtihealth.org.au/ageing for more details and details of other state consultations. Lunch will be provided so please RSVP to Steven Kennedy E: ageing @lgbtihealth.org.au or T: (02) 8568 1110.
Through the Department of Health and Ageing’s web page which has got details of the consultation process plus the draft document. Written submissions are open until Friday 2 November 2012. Go to http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/lgbti-ageing-and-aged-care-strategy for more information.
GRAI is working with the National LGBTI Health Alliance to ensure that Western Australians have the opportunity to be involved in the consultation process. As Chair of GRAI I invite you either individually or as an organisation representative to get involved. If you require more background, please contact me and please forward this email through your networks.
Dr Jude Comfort, Chair