Apply now for PICAC funding

Above: The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler.

Applications opened last Saturday for funding under a program that aims to help aged care providers and community-based organisations meet the needs of older Australians from non-English-speaking backgrounds.

$6.6 million in total will be available to fund grants under the Partners in Culturally Appropriate Aged Care (PICAC) Program over the next three years, starting this July.

One grant will be available for each state and territory, each of which will fund a single organisation to work together with providers, the Department of Health and Ageing and community groups funded through the Community Partners Program (CPP).  

The CPP has similar aims to PICAC, but offers funding to a wider range of smaller community groups that support people from language backgrounds other than English.

One PICAC-funded organisation in each state or territory provides training to staff in aged care residential homes, and to community groups that provide aged care services, to help them better accommodate older people who are not native English speakers.  

The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, pointed to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed in 2009 that almost a quarter of Australians were born overseas, and said the PICAC program was part of the Gillard government’s commitment to providing them with access to high-quality care services that meet their needs. 

“The core objective of projects funded under the PICAC Program is to equip aged care service providers to deliver appropriate care to older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds,” Mr Butler said.  

More information about the PICAC Program and contact details for the current PICAC-funded organisations in each state is available from the Department of Health and Ageing website.