The Campaign for the Care of Older Australians (CCOA), which combines a group of faith based organisations and national peak bodies, commenced in November 2009.The membership of the Group capitalises on the public and political credibility of the church groups and the strength of the national peak bodies.The Campaign will provide a strong and unified voice on the needed reform of aged care.
The CCOA Campaign
The campaign has commenced and will continue beyond the Federal Election (if necessary) as it works to influence the federal budget outcomes, the health and hospitals reform agenda, the Productivity Commission review as well as the election.The campaign is designed to work on three levels:
1. Government Relations Plan - leading corporate public relations firm CPR hasdeveloped this for the group. A series of strategic meetings with MPs and their advisers is underway.
2. Community Awareness Campaign - URSA, the award winning agency which developed ACSA’s Can’t do it without you image campaign, has been appointed to assist with this facet of the campaign.The community awareness campaign theme is “The Grand Plan” which will portray ageing and aged care as a whole of community issue to ensure aged care isn’t relegated to second place in the long awaited health reforms.
3. Local engagement and activation of all networks - each organisation involved in the campaign will activate it members to participate in grass roots level activity to communicate CCOA’s reform agenda to politicians and the general public via letters, emails, twitter, Face book, meetings and the like.
ACSA and ACAA will coordinate the campaign through their national and state offices.
Campaign Objectives and Specific Asks:
The campaign has three key objectives
Giving older people and their families greater choice of services that meet their needs, who provides them and where and when they are received.
Ensuring that people with special needs; those who face socioeconomic disadvantage, and those who face geographic disadvantage, all have access to high quality aged care services.
Placing aged care services on a sustainable footing to ensure their continuing capacity to meet the service and support needs of older people and their carers.
Choice, Access and Sustainability are the key campaign messages that need to be repeated at every opportunity.
To achieve these objectives the campaign will seek the following specific action on aged care issues:
Increased operational funding for residential and community care, indexed thereafter - Restoration of CAP increases & extension to community care - Cost of Care Study – to establish a benchmark of care
More flexible funding options for capital - Cover costs of accommodation - Choice of how to pay - Remove high/low care distinction - Increase accommodation change for people with greater means
Creation of a single community care program
- Flexible, individualised funding
Address workforce issues - Working with government, unions and others to solve recruitment and retention issues.
Next Steps
CCOA has already commenced meeting with key politicians and advisers.
URSA is finalising the campaign document which will be the main communication tool with politicians, bureaucrats etc.Copies will be available for your use.The community awareness campaign is still being developed and further information will be provided to you as soon as its available.
Your involvement will be absolutely critical to ensure the success of the campaign.Bulletins will be distributed regularly to keep you informed of the campaign’s progress and advise on how you can be involved.
Contact your state association and/or the ACAA National Office for further information.Let’s work together to make 2010 our year.
Documents
