9 May 2024
Last week Able Australia announced the difficult decision to transition out of aged care services in South East Queensland. This decision has been made due to inadequate Commonwealth Home Care Support Funding over many years and had been accelerated due to the cost of living increases.
As a not-for-profit, we are not in a position to continue to support the services which have run at a loss of more than $2.2 million since 2018, and which continue to run at a loss due to inadequate funding and increased costs.
At this time, our focus is on supporting those impacted as much and in every way possible. People impacted include approximately 500 clients, 18 staff and 130 volunteers across Jimboomba, Raceview, Lowood and Southport. We are currently talking to each group and working closely with them to transition services by 30 September 2024.
While change is unsettling and there may be concerns about the continuity of these services to the community, we want to reassure our community that we are working hard to support a smooth transition by the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services, which is why we have committed to a long service transition timeline.
We are also taking every opportunity to support the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services as they seek to find an appropriate provider to take on these services with minimal disruption to the communities in which we operate. If the Departments find another provider earlier than 30 September 2024, we will work with them to transition earlier.
We believe that a provider that delivers a wide variety of aging in place services would have more scale to be able to provide these programs sustainably, within the scope of their broader service offering. With strong outcomes and a committed staff and volunteer base, these services present an attractive opportunity for a provider to grow their service offering.
While the decision to appoint a new service provider remains the responsibility of the Departments concerned, Able would welcome a confidential conversation with any prospective providers. Interested parties can contact our team at questions@ableaustralia.org.au to arrange a discussion.
As a not-for-profit service provider of over 50 years, Able Australia is retaining its focus on disability services across Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. Our disability services include supported independent living, specialist disability accommodation, positive behaviour support, day services, community participation and deafblind services.
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Contact details:
Gillian Victor, National Manager Marketing and Engagement
media@ableaustralia.org.au