News

Rosemary Seam, National Older Persons Reference Group member ‘I know of someone whose family removed them from the electoral role because they thought it was an onerous responsibility for them,’ aged care resident and Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) National… Read More »An older person’s right to vote doesn’t diminish with age. 

National Older Persons Reference group members OPAN’s National Older Persons Reference Group celebrates its fifth anniversary next week. The reference group was established on 27 March 2020 to hear directly from older people and support them to be actively involved… Read More »Raising older people’s voices

Daniella Greenwood, Consultant – Aged Care The Statement of Rights in the new Aged Care Act isn’t just words on paper, according to cultural and operational change consultant Daniella Greenwood. It’s the legislative muscle we need to bring about a… Read More »‘Little’ transgressions humiliating for older people 

Aged care advocates have delivered more than 24,000 cases of information and advocacy support across OPAN’s national 9-member network in the last 6 months – a 12.26% increase on the same period in the last  financial year – according to our… Read More »Poor communication remains key issue for older people

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

OPAN’s National Older Persons Reference Group meeting 2024 Loneliness is as bad for a person’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It also increases the risk of a range of conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and… Read More »Maintaining social connections