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Aged Care Guide
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2021
Cultural services
Meeting the needs of all cultures For many older Australians, leaving their home to move into residential care is a lifestyle change that can lead to an emotionally challenging experience. This transition can become more challenging for older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds requiring access to residential and community aged care services that are sensitive to meeting their specific cultural, spiritual, dietary and linguistic needs. For example, people who migrated from southern and eastern Europe in the 1950s and ‘60s, or from Asian countries in the 1970s and ‘80s, and who are now in need of aged and community care services, will be much more comfortable and secure receiving care from people who understand their specific cultural needs. It is expected that by 2021, more than 30 percent of Australia’s older population will have been born overseas, mostly in a non-English speaking country. With an increasing ageing and migration population, it is essential that Australian aged care services and communities have the capacity to respond to the unique needs of people from CALD backgrounds.
