Aged :: $3.96 million for Home and Community Care in NSW, Australia

Frail aged people, younger people with a disability and their carers will benefit from a joint Australian and NSW Government allocation of $3.96 million in funding for Home and Community Care (HACC) services in New South Wales.

The Australian Government Minister for Ageing, Christopher Pyne, and the NSW Minister for Ageing and Minister for Disability Services, Kristina Keneally, jointly announced that their governments would immediately release more than $443,000 in recurrent and $3.52 million in non-recurrent funding for 75 HACC projects across NSW.

?The HACC program plays an important role in the Australian Government?s aged-care policy framework,? Mr Pyne said.

?Home and Community Care is a central element of the Australian Government?s vision for a world-class aged care system that delivers high-quality, affordable and accessible care to meet the individual needs of older people, younger people who have a disability and their carers,? he said.

?For these people, Home and Community Care services provide support and practical assistance and enable older people in New South Wales to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.?

Ms Keneally said that the projects funded under this package would provide additional services in key areas.

?These include 8,913 additional hours of social support services for people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background in the Mid North Coast Local Planning Area and 3,900 additional hours of dementia-specific centre-based day care in the Manly, Warringah and Pittwater local government areas.?

?In addition, funds have been made available for a number of one-off projects which will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the HACC service system.

?They include $799,700 for vehicle replacement and fleet upgrades for community transport services, half a million dollars to help meals-on-wheels suppliers to purchase cold storage and heating equipment, and $310,000 to trial innovative models of service delivery across the state,? Ms Keneally said.