Aged and Community Services

Supporting older people and people with disabilities to stay active and connected. Providing culturally appropriate care.

Our Services
Healthy Living Group
The Healthy Living Group meets every fortnight on a Tuesday for outings in and around Hobart. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet up with old friends, make new friends, get some exercise and visit different places. Clients either pack a picnic or stop somewhere for lunch.

Elders Groups
For new and emerging communities, these groups provide an opportunity for clients to participate in day trips and other activities.

Karen Social Group
The K’nyaw social support group runs activities throughout summer only. This provides Karen client’s an opportunity to connect with each other and take part in outdoor activities such as light bushwalking.

Social Support Groups
Our Social Support Groups offer activities such as entertainment, exercise and information sessions. We provide morning tea and lunch at a reasonable cost. We can arrange transport if required.

  • Wednesday: Italian speaking Support Group
  • Thursday: Chinese speaking Support Group / Bhutanese Group
  • Friday: Multicultural Support Group
Our Case Managers can help you to access assistance with:

  • Housework
  • Personal Care
  • Meals
  • Transport
  • Outside activities
  • Medical issues
  • Legal and welfare matters
  • Advocacy
The Home Care Package program is a federal government initiative providing a coordinated package of services to support people to stay at home as they get older.

Our Home Care Package Program specialises in providing a wide range of support to elderly people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds who want to remain independent and living at home. We encourage independence, good health, social connections and physical activity.

Examples of support provided include:

  • support services, such as cleaning and gardening and basic home maintenance,
  • transport to help with shopping, visiting the doctor or attending social activities
  • personal care
  • case management

Home Care Pricing Schedule as of Feb 2024

Home Care Pricing Schedule as of Feb 2024 (Chinese translation)

For information on our Home Care Packages please phone 6221 0999 or email reception@mrctas.org.au

Further information on the Home Care Package Program is available through My Aged Care or by phoning 1800 200 422. If you speak a language other than English call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450.

The Tasmanian Home and Community Care (HACC) Program provides a range of basic core support services targeted at younger people who live in the Tasmanian community and whose capacity for independent living is at risk due to an acute health event, moderate or mild functional impairment or deterioration of an ongoing condition.  ‘Younger persons’ are people aged less than 65 years and Aboriginal people aged less than 50 years.

Eligibility:

  • Live in Tasmanian community;
  • Have difficulty performing everyday tasks without help due to moderate functional limitations, or an ongoing health condition;
  • Their capacity for independent living is at risk or be at risk of admission to acute care without assistance from the HACC program services.

HACC Program Services offered by MRC Tas:

Social support – Assistance provided by a companion, within the home or to access community services. Primarily directed to meeting a person’s need for social contact and or accompaniment to participate in social life. Not normally delivered at or from a fixed facility (including bilcultural workers).

Centre-based Day Care – Assistance provided to a client to attend/participate in group activities and provided at a fixed-base facility. Also includes group excursions/activities conducted by centre-based staff but held away from the fixed centre.

Meals at the Centre –  Meals prepared and delivered to the client (NOT prepared in the client’s home). Meals provided to a client at home, are counted separately to meals provided at a Centre.

Assessment – Assessment and re-assessment activities including at intake and eligibility determination for service. Also includes comprehensive assessment for a person’s need for assistance and capacity to undertake daily living, and OH&S assessments.

Case Management – In addition to care coordination work, refers to arranging additional services by means of brokerage, purchase of services, organising case conferences, actively monitoring for change in client or carer circumstances.

Client Coordination – Activities undertaken to facilitate access to HACC services for clients who need help to gain access to more than 1 service. Involves implementing care plan, liaison with service providers, monitoring and reviewing care plan.

Counselling/Support, Information and Advocacy – Assistance with understanding and managing situations, behaviours and relationships associated with the person’ need for care, including advocacy and provision of advice, information and training (including bilcultural workers).

Carers and guests will be charged the same as clients, and this will be added to the client’s invoice.

We invite community members to come along and try our group activities, these will be free the first time you attend (this is not possible in restaurants). If someone wishes to join the group, MRC Tas will assist them to register with MyAgedCare to attend the services.

Fees are invoiced to clients each monthly.

CHSP HACC Fee Schedule Feb-June 2024

CHSP HACC Fee Schedule Feb-June 2024 – Chinese translation

CHSP HACC Fee Schedule Feb-June 2024 – Nepali translation

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) helps senior Australians access entry-level support services to live independently and safely at home. The Program is based on a person’s support needs and age, e.g. if you are having trouble with everyday tasks and feel a little support could improve your health and wellbeing, CHSP could be right for you.

These services help older Australians to:

  • stay independent and safe in their own homes;
  • delay or avoid high-level care such as residential care in an aged care (nursing) home;
  • stay socially active;
  • stay connected with their community.

Eligibility:

  • 65 years or older (50 years or older for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people); or
  • 50 years or older (45 years or older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and on a low income, homeless, or at risk of being homeless.

Carers and guests will be charged the same as clients, and this will be added to the client’s invoice.

We invite community members to come along and try our group activities, these will be free the first time you attend (this is not possible in restaurants). If someone wishes to join the group, MRC Tas will assist them to register with MyAgedCare to attend the services.

Fees are invoiced to clients each monthly.

CHSP HACC Fee Schedule Feb-June 2024

CHSP HACC Fee Schedule Feb-June 2024 – Chinese translation

CHSP HACC Fee Schedule Feb-June 2024 – Nepali translation


Financial hardship assistance available. Please email reception@mrctas.org.au or call 03 6221 0999 for more information and to apply. 


For Service Providers
MRC Tas provides cultural education to aged care service providers and to other community organisations through the Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care (PICAC) program.

The PICAC program aims to:

  • Support aged care providers to deliver culturally appropriate care to older people from diverse cultural and linguistic (CALD) backgrounds,
  • Work towards a vision that our aged care system tailors to and is inclusive of all individuals regardless of their background, diverse characteristics or life experiences.
  • Ensure the needs of older people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are identified and addressed, and
  • Improve partnerships between aged care service providers, culturally and linguistically diverse communities and the Department of Health.

Tasmania’s PICAC officer, Geraldine Flynn, is based at Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania and can be contacted on (03) 6221 0999 or gflynn@mrctas.org.au.

For more information and resources for service providers as well as consumers, visit www.culturaldiversity.com.au

Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care is a national program funded by the Federal Department of Health since 1997. Visit www.picacalliance.org.

Delivery of safe and inclusive services to people with diverse needs and life experiences is built into the Aged Care Quality Standards. Diversity is woven through the standards and underpinned by Standard 1 to value the identity, culture and diversity of each consumer and to deliver culturally safe care and services.

The Australian Government’s Aged Care Diversity Framework provides a guide for assessing current performance, identifying gaps and designing pathways to improve inclusive service provision.

Within the framework, a CALD Action Plan was developed to assist aged care service providers to address specific barriers and challenges faced by older people with diverse characteristics and life experiences.

The Multicultural Sector Support and Development Service promotes and supports equitable access to Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) funded services for senior members of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.  The service target group is service providers funded under the CHSP and their clients

This services provides:

  • Strategic advice, information, referral and assistance to multicultural and mainstream services to improve outcomes for frail aged communities members from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.
  • Training to CHSP services, including Cultural Awareness Training, Working with Interpreters, and Working with People from a Refugee Background.
  • Information and advice to culturally and linguistically diverse communities to increase their awareness of, and access to, appropriate CHSP services.
  • Support in the development of home support services to enable CHSP service providers to operate effectively, in line with the objectives of the CHSP and within the broader aged care system.

Resources