Aged and Community Services Tasmania (ACST) is the leading peak organisation for aged care services, community care services and retirement villages in Tasmania.

ACST provides members with leadership, advocacy and an expanding knowledge base from which to draw information to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing industry.

Our members are the services providers who offer aged care in the community and within aged care homes. In Australia aged care services are operated by charitable, religious and community organisations, private businesses and state and local governments have been delivering quality services with skill, dedication and compassion for over 100 years.

2013 ACST State Conference

The 2013 ACST State Conference website is now live and can be viewed here.

The theme for the conference, to be held on Thursday, 26 and Friday 27 September is Tasmania - Your community, your future, your aged care. Please keep an eye on the website in the coming months for important news, updates and developments.

Are you interested in working in the Aged Care Services sector?

Are you looking for a secure career for the future?
Do you want to be a part of a growing industry?
Are you seeking to make a considerable difference to an older Tasmanians life?

If you have answered yes to these questions then this unique career opportunity is for you!
On behalf of aged care service providers in Tasmania ACST (peak body) in partnership with the Aged Care Workforce Innovation Network are seeking Expressions of Interest from people who would like to be included on an Industry Employment Register' leading to the opportunity of a sustainable career in the Aged Care Services Sector.

If you would like to work as an Extended Care Assistant in a residential setting or a Support Worker, in a Community setting then here is your chance. There will be two streams to the Employment Register one for those with the required qualification (Certificate III in Aged Care or Certificate III in Home & Community Care) one and one for those that will need to undertake a qualification as part of their employment.

Information sessions will be held across Tasmania. To express an interest in attending the sessions in the North and North West Click here.

ACST Industrial Relations Regional Forums - RESCHEDULED

As we now have a briefing in Hobart on 3 April on the Proposed Changes to the Aged Care Act 1997 and the Workforce Supplement recently announced by the Minister will depend on this legislative process, it seems sensible to defer these forums until after these briefings.

We have also requested further implementation details through the Ministers Office and DOHA and it has been indicated this may take some weeks it would be better to have this information available for these forums. As a result of these factors we have rescheduled the March dates to mid-April as follows:

Hobart: 10am 1pm, Monday 15 April @ Blundestone Arena (Bellerive Oval)

North West: 10am 1pm, Tuesday 16 April @ Meercroft Care Devonport (tbc)

Launceston: 10am 1pm, Wednesday 17 April @ the Sebel

RSVP: ceo@agedcaretas.org.au

Those who have registered for the previous dates will be kept on the attendance list unless advised otherwise.

Briefings on proposed changes to the Aged Care Act 1997

You are invited to a briefing session regarding the proposed changes to the Aged Care Act 1997 (the Act).

These proposed changes will lay the foundations for the Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package announced by the Government on 20 April 2012.

The sessions follow on from consultation sessions held in November and December 2012. Participants will be provided with updated information and
given an opportunity to ask questions regarding:
the proposed changes to the Act and other related legislation;
worked examples of changes to residential and home care; and
how and when the proposed changes will be implemented.

The sessions will run for approximately two and a half hours. Details for the session are as follows:

Hobart Function and Conference Centre, 1 Elizabeth Street, Hobart
11.30am - 2.00pm, Wednesday 3 April 2013

The session is limited to two (2) representatives per organisation. If you are unable to attend or would like further information on the proposed legislative changes, detailed information and a short video will be available online at: www.livinglongerlivingbetter.gov.au/

Please be advised venues have limited capacity so RSVPs are essential.

To RSVP please email LLLBenquiries@health.gov.au with your name, the organisation you represent and the session you would like to attend, at least one week before the session.

ACSA Releases 2013/14 Federal Budget Submission

Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) has released its 2013/14 Federal Budget Submission.

The Submission emphasises the important role of the not-for-profit sector in delivering critical services, support and care to older Australians, and the need to make the aged care system more responsive, flexible and affordable.

ACSA has also reiterated in the Submission that the Productivity Commissions (PC) 2011 report Caring for Older Australians presented a far superior and comprehensive blueprint for aged care reform and the importance of the Government revisiting and acting upon all the recommendations within that report as a matter of urgency.

Click here to read the Federal Budget Submission.

Apply for the 2013 ACST Graduate Nurse Program!

Our innovative Graduate Nurse Program has been designed to support and mentor newly graduated nurses who are transitioning to work to become confident, safe, competent and professional practitioners.

The program is focused on supporting graduates to become the best aged care nurse they can be. The graduate has the opportunity to rotate throughout various aged care areas, this allows the graduate to have exposure to all different types of nursing including high/acute care, low care, palliative care, dementia specific care, and in some instances community care.

Click HERE for more information and to request an information pack.

2013 SAGE Study tour program

SAGE offers innovative study tours to the aged care and retirement living industries. SAGE delegates have the opportunity to evaluate the advancement of Eldercare from a global perspective and receive insights from some of the world's most highly respected industry professionals.

In 2013, SAGE will be touring the United States and the United Kingdom. For more information or to register for these tours please visit http://www.sagetours.com.au/.

Alzheimer's Australia Conference 2013

The 2013 Alheimer's Australia Conference will be held in Hobart from 14-17 May 2013.

The theme for the 15th National Conference is The Tiles of Life, Colouring the Future. It is about making memories, when the very thing that brings us together is memory loss.

Alzheimer's Australia is asking people living and working with dementia to contribute to the making of a memory by painting a tile.

If you wish to paint a tile, please contact Pat Baines at the Tasmanian Alzheimer's Australia office via email pat.baines@alzheimers.org.au or on (03) 6224 3077.

For more information on the Conference, including a copy of the Conference program, please visit http://www.alzheimers2013.com/.