Ageing
Councils play an important role in providing community care services and other activities that enable older people to remain living in their own homes and stay active in their communities. Local Government develops plans and ageing strategies to meet the needs of older residents.
We are actively involved with other spheres of government to ensure that residential, community care programs such as Home and Community Care (HACC), and healthy ageing programs are well resourced to meet the real and growing level of need amongst older people and their carers.
Seniors' Week in March each year is supported by Local Government to recognise the valuable contribution older people make to their community, through respect, inclusion and being sensitive to the needs of older people.
In our work in ageing, Local Government NSW is supported by financial assistance from the NSW Government and from the Australian Government under the Commonwealth HACC program.
Age-Friendly Community LG Grants Scheme - Successful Grant Applicants Announced
The successful grant applicants have now been announced. Download the final list of successful councils (PDF, 43KB).
The Age-Friendly Community Local Government Grants Scheme (AFCLGGS) is funded by the NSW Office for Ageing in Family and Community Services and is an initiative in the NSW Ageing Strategy 2012. A total of $550,000 has been made available for a period of two years from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014. Grants are one-off allocations of up to $25,000 for individual councils, or up to $60,000 for projects by two or more councils.
Submissions
- LGSA Submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry into Caring for Older Australians (PDF, 201KB).
- LGSA Submission to Productivity Commission Inquiry into Disability Care and Support (PDF, 138KB).
- LGSA Submission to NSW Parliament Legislative Council Inquiry into Services provided or funded by NSW Ageing, Disability and Home Care (PDF, 183KB).
Ageing Strategies
Many councils have developed Ageing Strategies to address the needs of older people in the community. These strategies identify the impacts of an ageing population and provide a framework for the council to respond.
Examples of Ageing Strategies (PDF, 34KB) developed by councils are available to give an indication of how other councils are meeting the needs of their older residents.
Working with the Division of Local Government (DLG) and Department of Premier and Cabinet, we developed resources for councils to link their Ageing Strategies to the broader council Community Strategic Plan, Delivery Program and Operational Plan. The Ageing Population Resource (PDF, 43KB) provides some suggestions on how to link your Ageing Strategy with your councils Community Strategic Plan.
The DLG developed a resource for councils to help plan for an ageing population, which details the steps to take and provides links to key sources of information.
Local Government and Ageing Project
In 2010, NSW Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) funded a project to examine the social and financial benefits and impact of ageing populations on councils. For more information, please download the Final Report (PDF, 374KB).
We developed a Local Government and Ageing Toolkit for councils as part of the project. The project aimed to identify the:
- Magnitude of costs for Local Government of an ageing population.
- Financial impact.
- Range of council services affected.
- Potential impacts on the revenue raising capacity of councils.
- Social and economic contribution older people to their local communities.
Twenty Councils were recruited for the study, two engaged in case studies, 17 responded to a comprehensive survey, and 15 participated in focus groups.
Local Government and Ageing Toolkit for Councils
Resource for Ageing Population Planning (RAPP)
Local Government NSW is in the process of updating the Resource for an Ageing Population Planning with new Census data.
If you would like a copy of the old version, please email Margaret Kay and a copy on CD will be mailed to you.