You’re invited to attend a free webinar: Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers as a special needs group under the Aged Care Act 1997
Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers refers to the 500,000 children that were placed into institutional and out-of-home care in Australia in the last century. Of this group, 7,000 were former child migrants, 50,000 were indigenous children from the Stolen Generations and over 440,000 were non-indigenous children.
Forgotten Australians and care leavers often face barriers to accessing aged care and, as such, are recognised as a special needs group under the Aged Care Act 1997. Their experiences as children in care were often traumatic and the idea of requiring care as they age can be deeply retraumatising.
Over the past several years, Helping Hand Aged Care has been developing training and resources relating to care of Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers as part of the Real Care the Second Time Around (RCSTA) project. These were co-designed by people who identify as Forgotten Australians or Care Leavers – those with lived experience.
The RCSTA resources and training are intended to support aged care providers to provide trauma aware services for care leavers, and to give care leavers information about what they can ask about and expect in aged care. The resources and training are free and accessible on our website.
Webinar details
Aged care, health and allied health professionals are invited to attend a free webinar to learn more about the resources, Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers, and what trauma-informed aged care might look like.
The webinar will take place on 2 November 2023 at 10.30am-11.30am AEST / 11.30am-12.30pm AEDT / 11am-12pm ACDT.
You can register by clicking here
At the webinar we will hear from an Aged Care Finder who specialises in supporting Forgotten Australians and care leavers; along with officers from the Department of Health and some of the Helping Hand team working on embedding the resources. This webinar is suitable for leaders, educators, quality managers, and senior clinicians in aged care seeking further insight into the delivery of trauma aware services.
Access further resources
Training Module
The e-learning program, developed in collaboration with The Australian Institute of Social Relations, Relationships Australia South Australia, and Elm Place, is an introduction to understanding the impacts of childhood trauma for people now entering aged care. You can access this by clicking here.
Publications
Numerous documents are available for immediate download by clicking here. They can also be emailed on request or sent to you as hard copies.
- A brochure with ten questions Forgotten Australians can ask when looking for residential aged care.
- A publication to assist aged care providers working with Forgotten Australians.
- A publication to assist aged care providers to support their clients to develop one-page summaries that capture their individual stories and that would follow them through the aged care pathway.
- A copy of Helping Hand’s position statement regarding Forgotten Australians.
For any further information, or to request hard copies of resources, please contact us on 1300 653 600 or via [email protected]
Please note that we are working in partnership with Relationships Australia South Australia, with advice from those with lived experience of trauma, to develop additional training that will support people working in aged care to navigate crucial intake conversations – both intentional and spontaneous – with older people from diverse backgrounds and experiences of trauma. We look forward to sharing this with the sector next year.
