Call the Aged Care Advocacy Line, our national team of advocates is available Monday to Friday 8am–8pm and Saturday 10am-4pm
The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) has welcomed The Federal Government’s 2024 Budget and is redoubling our efforts on its call for an expedited new Aged Care Act, expected to be released in 2025. OPAN’s CEO Craig Gear has expressed… Read More »2024 Federal Budget – OPAN’s response
Danijela Hlis – OPAN National Older Persons Reference Group member Many older people are caught between 2 worlds, according to dementia advocate and OPAN National Older Persons Reference Group member Danijela Hlis. ‘One is the world of the family, and if we… Read More »Building resilience
National Older Persons Reference Group Member Kate Puls. The back of an ambulance is not the place to start thinking about what’s important to you, says National Older Persons Reference Group Member Kate Puls. An ambassador for Advance Care Planning… Read More »‘Reclaim your voice’ with Advance care plan
In the lead-up to International Women’s Day 2024, four members of OPAN’s National Older Person’s Reference Group share their views on this year’s theme: ‘Inspiring Inclusion’. Danijela Hlis In the country of my birth, Slovenia, International Women’s Day was always a big… Read More »What inclusion means to older women
National Older Persons Reference Group member Gwenda Darling. If I hadn’t handed in my driver’s licence, it would have been taken off me. A few weeks earlier, I had been sitting at a set of traffic lights. I saw the… Read More »Without a licence, you are trapped
Montana Manning cared for her husband, Stanley, for 15 years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. But as the progressive condition worsened, she found she could no longer support him at home. Reluctantly, Montana and Stanley decided it was time for… Read More »Montana feared she would lose her home
The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) members provided 36,904 instances of information and advocacy support to older people, their families and representatives in the 2022-23 financial year representing a 36 per cent increase from the previous year. Poor communication and lack of choice and control are the… Read More »New report exposes key issues facing older people
Lorraine Etherton and Simone Nannetti were introduced through the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS), but they quickly became firm friends. ‘We just clicked,’ Simone says. A former businesswoman and carer, she had become socially isolated after separating from her… Read More »Friends a perfect match
A joint OPAN and Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) discussion paper released today, Supports for Older People with Disability, highlights the failure of the current policy ecosystem to provide older people with disability with the same level of care, support and services… Read More »End discrimination against older people with disability
An Australian Human Rights Act will make an explicit universal statement, that reaffirms that older persons are entitled to human rights and fundamental freedoms on the same basis as everyone else, OPAN CEO Craig Gear has told the Federal Inquiry into… Read More »Human Rights Act to better protect older people