Summits and conferences

In 2008, at the mid point of the YPIRAC initiative’s rollout, the Alliance convened a national evaluation conference, Shaping the Future Today. This conference was in partnership with the federal Department of Families, and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), and examined the program’s achievements to that point as well as identifying the challenges the initiative faced going forward.

Participants included young people living in nursing homes, others with disability, family members, public servants, advocates, service providers in health, aged care, housing and disability; and state and federal government representatives.

Held over 2 days in Melbourne, Shaping the Future Today was a specialist conference that offered stakeholders an opportunity to describe a way forward that crossed borders and jurisdictions and did so in a spirit of collaboration and partnership. Concept mapping techniques that began at registration when participants were asked to provide a considered response to a key question, were used to engage stakeholders and gauge their views on the initiative’s implementation.

These responses were collated and provided a departure point for discussion on Day 1 of the conference. Day 2 began with discussion of results of the concept mapping completed the previous day and was followed by a hypothetical to vision the future that was facilitated by well known radio and TV personality, Julie McCrossin. Conference presentations addressed innovative service development and delivery, funding and policy issues.

Conference presentations and the conference report, including details of the concept mapping results, can be viewed at the Shaping The Future Today website.

In 2007, the Alliance convened a National Summit on No Fault Catastrophic Injury Insurance and Lifetime Care. Senior state and federal bureaucrats including the Executive Directors of all state and territory disability services attended, as well as senior officials from the federal Departments of Families, and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), national peak organisations in disability, health, aged care and housing and family members of YPINH.

The Summit referred to the work undertaken by John Walsh, Partner with PwC Sydney and Chris Cuff from Cuff and Associates in their 2005 Report to the Insurance Issues Working Group convened by federal and state Treasurers in the wake of the HIH collapse in 2001. This report, titled Long Term Care: Actuarial Analysis on Long-Term Care for the Catastrophically Injured, called for a national catastrophic injury scheme to be developed. Participants heard presentations from Chris Cuff and family members on the need for such a scheme and national action to achieve this.

The National Summit: Young People In Nursing Homes: From Aged Care to Appropriate Care was followed in 2003 by Unlocking Potential: From Vision to Reality, Australia’s first National Conference on this entrenched problem. Unlocking Potential included three conference streams that canvassed issues of sustainability and innovation as well as the momentum needed to finally redress the YPINH issue.

Over 500 people attended and listened to presentations from young people living in nursing homes and family members, advocates, providers in health, aged care and disability, as well as state and federal government representatives.

This National Conference was key in helping to deliver the 2005 Senate Inquiry into Aged Care.

In 2002, the Alliance convened Young People In Nursing Homes: From Aged Care to Appropriate Care: Australia’s first National Summit on the YPINH issue. The National Summit called for the Commonwealth Government to take responsibility for this national issue and work collaboratively with the states and territories on its resolution.

This National Summit was key in helping to deliver the 2005 Senate Inquiry into Aged Care.