Our Process

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What does ARAS provide

  • Information about the rights and responsibilities of older people as consumers of aged care services in the community and in aged care facilities.
  • Support to older people and/or their representatives:
  • to be involved in decision making about their quality of care and quality of life in aged care.
  • to raise and pursue their concerns or issues about care and service issues.
  • to participate in providing feedback about their level of satisfaction with the services they receive.
  • to participate in consumer/resident groups.
  • Assistance to older people or their representatives to speak for themselves or we will represent them on request.
  • Strategies to assist older people to safeguard themselves where they are at risk of abuse by someone they should be able to trust.
  • Information and education sessions about rights and responsibilities, abuse prevention and the role of ARAS.
  • Assistance with policy enhancement or development to ensure that consumer rights are upheld.
  • ARAS uses the term of abuse of older people in SA instead of elder abuse

ARAS Programs

ARAS programs are State-wide and provide access to special needs groups including people in regional and remote areas, and those from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities.

ARAS has four programs, all of which are based on the rights and entitlements of the older person. Three cover the range of aged care service provision from community to residential care.

ARAS Residential Care Program (1990)

ARAS began as the South Australian component of the National Aged Care Advocacy Program (NACAP), which is funded through the Australian Government's Aged Care Quality Assurance framework. It was developed in response to an identified need and assists to demonstrate Australia's commitment to the rights of older people.

Our role is to assist consumers, potential consumers and former consumers of aged care services, or their representatives, to resolve problems or complaints in relation to the following aged care services:

  • Aged care facilities both low and high care,
  • Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs),
  • Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) Packages, or
  • EACH Dementia (EACH-D).

We also provide information and education sessions to groups of older people, staff and other relevant stakeholders about the rights of consumers of Australian Government subsidised aged care services.

ARAS HACC Program (1991)

ARAS is funded by the Home and Community Care (HACC) Program to:

  • Provide information about HACC consumer rights and advocacy to the HACC aged care service stakeholders.
  • Assist older people using Community Services funded by the Home and Community Care (HACC) Program where they have a problem or concern with the services being provided.

We also provide information and education sessions to groups of older people, staff and other relevant stakeholders about the rights of consumers of aged care services.

ARAS Aboriginal Advocacy Program (2003)

The ARAS Aboriginal Advocacy Program is funded by HACC to:

  • Work with older Aboriginal people (+50 years).
  • Provide information about the rights of older Aboriginal people as consumers of aged care services.
  • Improving their access to those services.
  • Assist them to resolve problems in relation to aged care services.

Aged care services relate to mainstream and those specific to older Aboriginal people.

This program is in collaboration with the Council of Aboriginal Elders SA.

We also provide information and education to groups of older people, staff and other relevant stakeholders about the rights of consumers of aged care services.

ARAS Abuse Prevention Program (1997)

This program is available to a broader client group of older people. However the client group is mainly frailer older people, who are using or eligible for aged care services.

The ARAS Abuse Prevention Program is funded by HACC and Department for Families and Communities (DFC) to:

  • Work with older people who are at risk of, or experiencing, abuse by family and friends, or someone they should be able to trust.

ARAS aims to assist the older person or their representative to put strategies in place that will minimise or stop the risk of further abuse. (ARAS uses the term of older people in SA instead of elder abuse)

ARAS received additional funding from Department for Families and Communities to implement the State Government 'Our Actions to prevent the abuse of older South Australians 2007' (ongoing) plan in 2008-2009.

We also provide information and education sessions to older people, staff and other relevant stakeholders about the rights of older people and abuse prevention.