PICAC Alliance Explainers hub
Formal access is not always meaningful, sustained access. The PICAC Alliance Explainers examine the practical conditions that help older people understand, participate in, access and continue to use aged care support.
National perspectives on the conditions that make aged care work in practice
The Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care, or PICAC, program supports aged care providers and the workforce to deliver culturally appropriate care for older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The PICAC Alliance connects the seven organisations delivering the program across Australia.
This explainer series focuses on a simple but important distinction. A right, service, assessment or provider may exist in principle, yet still be difficult to understand, trust, access or use in practice. The explainers examine the implementation conditions that can bridge that gap.
They are designed for providers, managers, assessors, policymakers, quality teams, service designers and others working to make aged care more usable, equitable and responsive.
Explore the three implementation questions
Each explainer examines a different point at which formal access can fail to become practical, meaningful or sustained access. Together, they build a connected picture of the conditions required for rights-based, culturally appropriate aged care.
From Language Access to Understanding
Language access is essential. However, information being translated or an interpreter being available does not, by itself, guarantee understanding, informed choice, meaningful participation or successful service use.
Assessment Quality Depends on Communication Quality
An assessment can only identify needs, risks, goals and preferences that are successfully communicated, understood and documented. Assessment is not only a technical process; it is also a communication process.
What Are CALD Micro-Markets?
A market can appear adequately supplied while an older person cannot find a service they can communicate with, understand, reach, trust and use. CALD micro-markets are specialised, non-geographic markets shaped by more than postcode-level provider numbers.
From Formal Access to Sustained Service Use
This supplementary evidence note supports PICAC Alliance Submission 82 to the Senate inquiry into the Support at Home Program. It provides implementation detail on the conditions that can determine whether people are able to understand, access and continue using aged care support.
It brings together three linked mechanisms: assessment accuracy depends on communication quality; CALD micro-markets can be thin markets; and reasonable pricing needs to recognise legitimate delivery inputs.
View PICAC Alliance position papersSubmission 82 supplementary evidence note: to be added once approved for publication.
- Communication quality
- Assessment accuracy
- Practical service access
- Market viability
