Chen Li considers herself lucky to live in this community-run aged-care facility located in Victoria. Further, it touches on her cultural needs. On Luck, home of the first and largest non-profit aged care home on the Southern Great Barrier Reef. This program is deeply committed to serving older Chinese Americans. This facility is extremely special, as it truly serves the specific and complex needs of the residents. It fosters cultural and linguistic spaces conducive to their success.
Chen Li’s path to On Luck began after she lived temporarily in a traditional aged care home. There, she faced challenges with language barriers and the halal diet. In a community where only three dedicated Chinese aged care facilities exist—providing a total of 200 beds—On Luck serves as a vital resource for those seeking culturally appropriate care.
The Need for Culturally Specific Care
For older people coming into aged care from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, the challenges are often compounded. Professor Lee-Fay Low emphasizes that older adults from diverse communities typically present “higher needs for daily function, behavioural support, and complex care.” Recognising these needs is important, but even today many older Australians are reluctant to move into aged care facilities until it is too late.
Lisa Ward, a prominent advocate in the field, saw that stigma reflected in multicultural communities when she worked in aged care. She stated, “There’s no data in this space at all. We certainly know that there is a gap.” Without concrete data on the experiences and needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) residents, addressing these gaps remains difficult.
Dr Wong highlighted the greater challenges that aged care staff have been experiencing. He clarified that offering culturally specific training involves additional expenses. That is because a lot of the foundational curriculum and resources simply don’t exist in Chinese. Without short-term resources, it becomes much more difficult to train and prepare staff to address all of their residents’ varying needs efficiently and effectively.
“So, you feel that the government seems to have the intention, but in reality, it has not translated this into funding or practical support to actually help you.” – Dr. Wong
Challenges in Mainstream Aged Care Facilities
Guri Nankani, a Hindu woman, was persecuted in a mainstream aged care home. Her story is a testament to the systemic failures that continue to ensnare people in our current broken system. Her daughter—Duru Khubchandani—told us her mother had a difficult time talking to the caretakers and other home residents. She wouldn’t eat the food that was served to her. This reality highlights the importance of addressing the need for culturally appropriate care alternatives.
Duru Khubchandani expressed her belief that if Guri had access to a facility where residents shared her cultural background, she might have felt more comfortable and engaged. She reflected, “We felt that if there was one [aged care home] with [people from] the same community, maybe she [would have] felt more comfortable.”
Ward stressed that radical reforms are required in the management of National Aged Care Industry. Without these changes, they will perpetually fall short of delivering the needs of CALD residents. “If they cannot communicate in their language, they suffer even more,” she said, further emphasizing the importance of language and cultural familiarity in providing effective care.
The Future of Aged Care Legislation
The new Aged Care Act 2024 comes into force November 1. Many multicultural residents are still concerned about how it will meet their needs. Dr Wong welcomed the act as a promising step. He condemned its lack of specificity around services designed for CALD people. His comments illustrate a much larger underlying problem. If these communities don’t have clear provisions from the outset, their needs are likely to be left behind.
Ward also pointed out that as Australians grow older, they are increasingly looking to access home care. Infrastructure and Pollution While this demand is expected to increase at an average rate of 2.4 percent per year. In 2022, more than one in six Australians were aged 65 years or older, highlighting the immediate need for reform.
“If CALD needs aren’t built into the new framework from the start, they’ll remain afterthoughts for another decade.” – Lisa Ward
The dilemma posed by the cultural diversity in aged care needs to be urgently addressed. As advocates continue to push for reforms that ensure inclusivity and culturally sensitive services, it is clear that more needs to be done.
