My question is to Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers in the other place. How is the Allan Labor government supporting seniors of a migrant background who reside in the Glen Waverley district? My electorate of Glen Waverley is one of the most diverse in the state. We take pride in our cultural and linguistic differences, because through those differences we learn from each other and it brings our community together. We also know that as people grow older many revert to the comfort of their mother tongue, and therefore it is vital that we take proactive steps to ensure that senior support services are accessible in different languages. It is imperative that Victorian seniors of a migrant background have access to the help and assistance they need, including government programs, such as the seniors card, the companion card and the carers card. This is all part of the Allan Labor government’s commitment to supporting our seniors and those from diverse backgrounds to build a fairer Victoria. I look forward to the minister’s response.
Answer from Minister:
Thank you to the Member for Glen Waverley for his ongoing advocacy for Glen Waverley’s older residents and local groups that support and connect older Victorians, especially those who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
The Allan Labor Government is committed to supporting all Victorians to age well, including supporting older Victorians from migrant and refugee backgrounds access government services and encourage them to get out and about.
Our government is ensuring that multicultural seniors are supported in language to access government services. Interpreter services are available for the Victorian Seniors Card, Carer Card and Companion Card programs to assist multicultural people to apply for and maintain their cards. In addition, the Seniors Online website hosts an array of translated materials including print resources for the Victorian Seniors Card, Companion Card, Seniors Festival and Victorian Senior of the Year Awards in over 14 languages and videos in 16 languages on how to apply, use and access discounts for the Victorian Seniors Card program.
The government also provides funding to Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) to enhance access to information (including in-language) that supports positive ageing for multicultural seniors in their communities, and to increase capacity of multicultural seniors’ clubs to access training and support on governance and planning, apply for grants and collaborate with councils in social participation programs.
The Labor Government continues to invest in initiatives that celebrate and empower older Victorians, including the state-wide Victorian Seniors Festival and Victorian Senior of the Year Awards. The Victorian Seniors Festival provides opportunities for older Victorians to participate in free or low-cost events and activities during the month of October each year. The festival collaborates with community, cultural and sporting organisations along with 79 local councils to promote activities and events. As part of the Victorian Senior of the Year Awards, the valuable contribution of multicultural older Victorians is celebrated through the Promotion of Multiculturalism Award to an individual for a significant contribution to promoting the benefits of cultural diversity in their local community or in the broader community.
The Allan Labor government celebrates our multicultural seniors and their unique contributions to Victoria. We continue to support multicultural seniors through the delivery of our highly successful Multicultural Seniors Support Program. This program connects and supports Victorian seniors from our diverse communities to engage with their communities through activities to improve cultural appreciation and social cohesion, and also reduces social isolation and fosters social connections. Multicultural and multifaith groups can also apply for grants through the Victorian Multicultural Commission, to fund projects and events that support, celebrate or promote their culture, faith or community Multicultural grants | multiculturalcommission.vic.gov.au
The Allan Labor Government is also committed to preventing and addressing elder abuse, including for migrant and refugee communities. This includes funding ECCV to deliver the Raising awareness of elder abuse in ethnic communities project, which trains bilingual community educators who deliver in-language sessions to raise awareness of elder abuse and support pathways. ECCV does this in collaboration with Seniors Rights Victoria, an auspice of Council on the Ageing Victoria. We also continue to fund eight Elder Abuse Prevention Networks to provide community-based primary prevention and raise awareness of elder abuse in communities across our state. For Glen Waverley, in the City of Monash, this valuable work is led by the Eastern Elder Abuse Prevention Network.
I once again thank the Member for Glen Waverley for his commitment to engaging and supporting older Victorians.
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Ingrid Stitt MP
Minister for Ageing
