MEDIA RELEASE

ATTENTION: Aged care/health/political reporters
24 May 2005

Happy birthday! 5 productive years
The National Aged Care Alliance (the Alliance) celebrated its fifth birthday at a meeting in Canberra this week.

The Alliance was formed in 2000 at the height of community concern over aged care.

The Alliance, which brings together all major national non-government stakeholders in ageing issues, has been a driving force in making aged care a political and community priority.

The Alliance’s focus is to develop strategies to improve the quality of aged care in Australia.

The 5th birthday meeting agreed that the Alliance’s lobbying priorities over the next year would be:

• preparing a workforce to meet the needs of Australians as they grow older;
• linking health and aged care services so that older people receive health care and aged care that best suits their needs; and
• developing a benchmark of care that reflects the real costs of providing care in both the community and the residential care sector.

To this end, the Alliance is planning a national forum on long-term financing of aged care in August 2005.

The Alliance has been a major advocate for making dementia a national health priority, and welcomes the government’s moves in this direction.

The Alliance is a representative body of 24 peak national organisations in aged care, including consumer groups, providers, unions, and health professionals, working together to achieve a more positive future for the aged care sector in Australia.

View 5th Birthday photos

Membership of the Alliance comprises:
Aged & Community Services Australia; Aged Care Association Australia; Alzheimer’s Australia; Anglicare Australia; Australian Association of Gerontology; Australian Divisions of General Practice Ltd; Australian Healthcare Association; Australian Medical Association; Australian Nursing Federation; Australian Pensioners & Superannuants Federation; Australian Physiotherapy Association; Australian Society for Geriatric Medicine; Baptist Care Australia; Carers Australia; Catholic Health Australia; COTA National Seniors; Geriaction; Health Services Union; Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union; Lutheran Aged Care of Australia; Pharmacy Guild of Australia; Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; Royal College of Nursing, Australia; UnitingCare Australia.

For further information about this media release contact: Richard Gray (Catholic Health Australia) 0417 483 469; Greg Mundy (Aged and Community Services Australia) 0416 203 065; Mukesh Haikerwal (Australian Medical Association) 0407 599 332; Kate Hurrell (Geriaction) 0411 889 220; Rod Young (Aged Care Association Australia) 0419 624 178; Victoria Gilmore (Australian Nursing Federation) 0409 221 699; Glenn Rees (Alzheimer's Australia) 0419 303 407.