Sasha Omran

Stuart Barber, a financial advocacy officer with Senior Rights Service, OPAN’s New South Wales network member.    Tell us a little about your background.  I wasn’t always a ‘money guy’. I started as a graphic designer and was quite successful in… Read More »Advocacy in action: Stuart Barber

The new Aged Care Act was passed in the Australian Parliament on 25 November 2024. It will commence on 1 July 2025. Much of the detail around how it is to be implemented is contained in the subordinate legislation, or… Read More »What the new Aged Care Act means for you

Aged care champion Hope Meatuai, who works for the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA) A pilot project that partners advocates with local ‘champions’ is already paying dividends for older people living in rural and remote areas. ‘It’s not possible… Read More »Teamwork overcomes ‘distance, demographics, disadvantage’

National Older Persons Reference Group member Alan GravolinAlan Gravolin was unfazed by his late wife, Lyn’s, decision to appoint him as her substitute decision-maker. ‘We’d always worked together to make decisions for our family and also for ourselves,’ he says. … Read More »A shared responsibility 

The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) has welcomed the release of an independent evaluation of the National Aged Care Advocacy Program (NACAP). Through the NACAP, the Department of Health and Aged Care funds 235 advocates and support staff across OPAN’s… Read More »90% get better care after advocacy: report

Michelle Treasure’s mother lived with dementia at home, and in residential aged care, for more than 12 years. She passed away in March.  ‘I wish I had known about supported decision-making earlier,’ Michelle said in her written statement to the… Read More »‘Mum seemed happier and more engaged’ 

Aged Care Act Senate inquiry: National Older Persons Reference Group member Helen Walne gives evidence. Helen Walne told a Senate inquiry last week that her health  had deteriorated significantly in the wake of increased transport costs. Helen, a member of… Read More »Transport costs discriminate against people in rural areas 

Advocacy in action: National Older Persons Reference Group members Scott Hyams and Gwenda Darling Age erodes people’s human rights. ‘To put it bluntly, you are not seen as an equal to our younger citizens,’ OPAN CEO Craig Gear told the… Read More »Eight ways OPAN is tackling ageism

Robin Vote is a member of OPAN’s National Older Persons Reference Group, which was formed in 2020 to hear directly from older people about the issues that affect them and to facilitate their active participation in aged care reform. Tell… Read More »‘The best thing about being older is being me’  

Today is an historic day in our sector. I would personally like to congratulate the Albanese Government and the Coalition on reaching a hard-fought-for consensus on the new Aged Care Act and accompanying funding model to support it.    A rights-based… Read More »OPAN welcomes introduction of new Aged Care Act