ACCPA to rebrand as Ageing Australia
There will be “plenty of time” to get used to the new name, Tom Symondson tells conference.
Two-and-a-half years in Aged and Community Care Providers Association wants to change its name.
ACCPA chief executive officer dropped the bombshell to around 2,000 aged care providers and stakeholders on the second day of the peak’s national conference in Adelaide on Thursday.
“We are going to change our name,” Mr Symondson told delegates. “Increasingly, I have thought of the name as an impediment rather than as an advantage. It’s alienating and it’s confusing,” he said.
This view is shared by others, said Mr Symondson, who say the existing name “doesn’t talk about what we do”, such as retirement and independent living organisations, who provide accommodation rather than care.
“As of early 2025 we will be known as Ageing Australia,” said Mr Symondson. “We hope it will be liberal. We hope that you’ll like it,” he said.
“We hope it will resonate with the people we need to persuade and the people we need to engage, the community, the media, the government.”
New focus on retirement living
Elsewhere Mr Symondson said ACCPA was boosting its support for retirement living and independent housing providers. There are 300 members of the peak who currently deliver these type of services, he said.
“Mark Prosser, who is our director of retirement living and seniors housing, is building a team of people throughout our organisation, both in the team and also across other teams, to really push retirement living activity and support as much as we possibly can.”
Call to back legislation in full
Mr Symondson also talked about the new legislation currently being reviewed by a Senate committee. Like Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells told delegates on Wendesday, he said the new Aged Care act had to pass both houses before Christmas.
He thanked providers for answering last year’s call to support the whole package of reforms recommended by Aged Care Taskforce. And once again he asked everyone to get on board in full – despite the elements that need to be addressed.
“There are things in it we don’t like. We need a greater transition. We need to deal with whistleblowers. We need to deal with some of the fines and the penalties,” said Mr Symondson. But it has to get through, he said.
“Anybody listening, we still very much need it to pass. Anybody in the room who has a better relationship with God than I, pray for it.”
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