We’re now living in an era where countries are facing an impending ageing population crisis, and Australia is no different. An estimated one million senior citizens are receiving home care or residential respite services. As the nation’s ageing population grows, they’ll require the necessary care and support to continue living dignified lives.
The Australian government views the current state of age care as a serious concern and aims to improve it through the launch of the Aged Care Workforce Action Plan 2022 – 2025. The plan was formed to address issues faced by aged care workers, while also providing opportunities to develop a better aged care workforce through upskilling, training programmes and funding initiatives.
To support this timely effort, Homage – having observed the positive impact of implementing our tech-powered personalised care in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan – seeks to be part of the solution to Australia’s emerging ageing population problem. We’re doing so by leveraging not only technology but also our multi-market ecosystem experience to support the ongoing reform for tailored home-based care. This is our commitment to making aged care easily accessible for all people in Australia, while also ensuring that care professionals have the flexibility and work-life balance they need to provide the best care possible.
Growing from strength to strength
I am excited to take on Homage’s mission in Australia to make tailor-made care services accessible and available throughout the country, as we work to ensure holistic healthcare for all.
We’ve already made significant progress since our launch in Melbourne early 2021, and doubled up our efforts by expanding nationwide – establishing our presence in Adelaide and Perth in May 2022. Homage has been working with federal and state and territory governments for our expansion in Adelaide and Perth, in particular the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and the Government of Western Australia office. Austrade has helped connect us with stakeholders in the aged care and disability sector while the Government of Western Australia office has provided us with key insights into Western Australia’s economy and networking opportunities. As the ageing population in this region is expected to grow – with those aged over 80 increasing by 50 per cent in the next few years – we’re committed to strengthening our network of over 1,000 care professionals. These care professionals will also be able to offer their services to care recipients at homes, aged care facilities, hospitals and community care centres.
At this critical juncture, the aged care ecosystem must continue to innovate to sustainably cope with care demands that will only increase. By utilising technologies such as a matching engine and real-time data, care owners can assess care professionals based on their compatibility with the recipients. Additionally, having more data provides us with greater visibility of care recipients, helping to ease the entire caregiving process such as managing visits, payments and care reporting.
It is without a doubt that service demands will continue to increase to meet the needs of Australians and Homage Australia will stay on top of the aged care ecosystem’s developments, leaning on our qualified and experienced healthcare workers to provide the most relevant care and support and reinvent the aged care profession.
We will continue building on these initial – but highly important – steps to build and scale much-needed infrastructure to deliver quality long-term care, as we work for the betterment of the nation.
