Multicultural Communities Council of SA (MCCSA) and its EnCOMPASS Connectors provide one-on-one support to older people and their carers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, on how to navigate My Aged Care and access other services.

MCCSA Connectors have identified that cultural stigma, language competency, computer literacy, complexity of the aged care system, trust in institutions and cost of services can prevent older people accessing aged care services and supports.

EnCOMPASS has proved its effectiveness in assisting older people to overcome barriers to becoming more independent and resilient.

At present, MCCSA Connectors support older people, regardless of the complexity of their needs. EnCOMPASS Multicultural Aged Care Connectors Program in its current form will remain active until 30 June 2023, then transition to the Care Finder Program, designed to support people with more complex needs.

Care Finder offers a national, face-to-face network of care finders. It provides support for older people to interact with My Aged Care, access aged care services and other community resources. Find out more about the Care Finder Program here.

The EnCOMPASS program is primarily geared towards older people speaking Italian, Greek, Cantonese, and Mandarin; however, those who speak other languages are encouraged to get in touch and MCCSA will gladly provide qualified interpreters for the language speaker living in any of their serviced areas. Since the beginning of the project, MCCSA has supported people speaking languages including Arabic, Hindi, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

MCCSA has recently widened its service areas and is now delivering EnCOMPASS in the Riverland, as well as in metropolitan Adelaide (east, south and west).

MCCSA delivers the EnCOMPASS project in partnership with the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) and under funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.

MCCSA encourages older people speaking languages other than English, their families and carers to contact MCCSA Connectors prior to 30 June 2023, to find out more about the EnCOMPASS program and available assistance.

For more information, contact MCCSA’s EnCOMPASS Connectors:

Photo: EnCOMPASS Connectors support older people to access aged care services and supports