'Care About Aged Care' campaign receives award

A campaign to improve aged care for all Australians has been recognised with an award for Best External Campaign by the Associations Forum.

The ‘It’s Time to Care About Aged Care’ campaign was run in the wake of the Aged Care Royal Commission in 2021. The campaign struck a chord with the public and aged care became a central election issue for the first time. It helped shape the government’s response to the Royal Commission, and secured commitments to improve the quality of care before the federal election.

The campaign came about through a collaboration between six aged care provider representative groups — Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA), Anglicare Australia, Baptist Care Australia, Catholic Health Australia, Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) and UnitingCare Australia — which represented more than 1000 organisations who deliver 70% of aged care services to 1.3 million Australians. ACSA and LASA have now merged to become the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA).

UnitingCare Australia National Director Claerwen Little, who chaired the campaign, said it was instrumental in keeping aged care in the public eye and achieving important commitments in support of aged care reform.

“Everyone deserves quality care as they get older. All of us should be able to get quality care, with dignity, when we need it. That’s why a record number of Australians named aged care as a key election issue,” Little said.

“Our campaign tapped into the growing demand for change, showing that we cannot afford to keep tinkering around the edges of the system.”

The campaign was run initially by Apollo Communications and Industrial Australia in the post-Royal Commission phase, and then by Essential Media in the lead-up to the federal election.

ACCPA CEO Tom Symondson said the award was welcome recognition by the Associations Forum of how collaboration between organisations with a common interest can lead to positive outcomes.

“The success of the campaign underlines the motivation of the sector to ensure Australians have the aged care system they deserve,” Symondson said.

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