What is Access and Support?
 
Staying independent, healthy and safe at home is important, but finding the right services to help can be complicated. Access and Support staff can work with people to find and access the services that are right for them.

Access and Support staff work with older people, people with disabilities and their carers who are from different backgrounds and communities who are having difficulty accessing Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) or the  HACC Program for Younger People (HACC PYP).  Their role is to support people who are having trouble navigating the  system and find services that suit them.

Who is eligible?
Access and Support services often assist people at various stages throughout the client pathway who, because of a barrier connected to their diversity 

• ​are unsure about how to communicate their need for assistance
• have little or no knowledge about aged care services
• have little or no experience in using aged care services  
• are not aware of their eligibility for aged care services or lack confidence to find out if or how aged care services could potentially help them
• think that services may not understand their needs or respect their preferences[1].

A person could be eligible to work with an Access and Support worker if they meet the criteria above and identify with one or more of the areas below:

• Have dementia or are caring for someone with dementia
• Speak a language other than English
• Identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• Experiencing financial difficulty, social isolation or are at risk of homelessness
• Identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex
• Are a parent who was separated from their child/children by forced or coerced adoption
• Veteran or
• Lived within government run children’s facilities – “Forgotten Australians”

If you are not sure if this is the right service for your client, please contact an Access and Support worker and they can help you find the right solution.

How can Access and Support help?
The first step is for the Access and Support worker to learn about the person, understand what is important and what they want to achieve. They work with the person and the people who support them, to develop a plan and find the right solution and services.

This might include:

• Registering on My Aged Care
• Attending the holistic assessment
• Providing information about the services available in the local community.
• Linking you to services and supports by making referrals, helping to complete forms and attending appointments with you.
• Helping you understand how services work and supporting you to access the right information and support

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[1] Diversity planning and practice in HACC services in Victoria: a practice guide for HACC A&S roles, Sept 2013.
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Access and Support in the EMR

There are seven organisations within the EMR who have Access and Support workers covering the local government catchment areas.  Organisation may have a specialised diversity area, but all will be able to assist with referrals and ensure eligible people are connected to another Access and Support organisation.  

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Access and Support organisations and the areas they support

​Carrington Health- 88432251
Boroondara, Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse

Chinese Community Social Services Centre- 9888 8671 
All EMR Councils

EACH Social & Community Health- 9735 7945
 Knox, Maroondah, Yarra Ranges

Eastern Health – Yarra Valley CHS- 1300 130 381 
Yarra Ranges

Migrant Information  Centre- 9275 6901 
Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash, Whitehorse, Yarra Ranges

Mullum Mullum Gathering Place - 9725 2166
Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash, Whitehorse

St Vincent’s Hospital (Melbourne) - 9288 3817
Boroondara
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information_brochure_access_and_support_program.pdf

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