Funded by the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) (a joint initiative between Commonwealth and Victorian Governments), our Access and Support Program provides further support to those who have barriers in accessing services that assist them to remain living at home.

What Is Diversity?

Diversity is a concept that each person is unique and has different beliefs, values, preferences and life experiences.

The Access and Support worker’s aim is to work with individuals and service providers to remove barriers for individuals to enable them to access the necessary care and support they need so they can remain living independently in their homes and communities.

An Access and Support Worker can assist with:

• Contacting My Aged Care and supporting you through the assessment process
• Assist individuals to determine their goals and needs and actively work towards achieving these
• Assist people to self- advocate
• Contacting NDIS if you are a younger person with a disability
• Understanding how services work
• Finding out what services are available to suit your needs and lifestyle and if any costs are involved
• Linking you in with services to improve your quality of life such as housing, financial counselling or therapies and health services
• Understanding information given to you by service providers
• Promoting and educating individuals to engage with their communities

RIAC Access and Support workers assist individuals who are living with dementia, financially disadvantaged, those who are culturally and linguistically diverse, the LGBTI community, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, Veterans and Care Leavers who are HACC Program for Younger People (PYP) or CHSP eligible.

The Access and Support worker also provides secondary consultation to generic services about approaches with particular groups, communities and individuals experiencing barriers to access.