Diversity planning and practice

Page content: Background | Diversity planning and practice | Regional diversity plans | Downloads | Contact

Background

Over time, the Victorian Home and Community Care (HACC) program has implemented a range of initiatives aimed at improving access for special needs groups.

In order to achieve a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to responding to different needs and disadvantage experienced within the HACC target population, the department is evaluating these strategies and the resources that support them, and is now in the process of aligning them under Diversity planning and practice.

One of the key programs evaluated as part of this process was the HACC Cultural Planning Strategy (CPS), which aimed to support the HACC service system to increase access to, and better meet the needs of HACC users from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Under the CPS, HACC funded organisations were required to develop and submit a HACC Cultural Action Plan to their respective regional Department of Health offices on an annual basis.

Diversity planning and practice is the department’s response to the recommendations of the CPS evaluation, which proposed that the CPS graduate to focus on diversity in a broad sense.

Diversity planning and practice

Diversity planning and practice is a strategic population planning initiative that supports and encourages HACC service delivery that is responsive to and respectful of the specific characteristics of the person seeking services.

It complements a range of HACC quality improvement initiatives including implementation of the Active Service Model, the Assessment Framework and Service Coordination practice, which seek to improve access to well coordinated and person centred service responses.

Diversity planning and practice will continue to focus on the five HACC special needs groups specified in the HACC Agreement:

• people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
• people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds
• people with dementia
• people living in rural and remote areas and
• people experiencing financial disadvantage (including people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness).

Diversity planning and practice has a particular focus on these groups and the different characteristics within and across these groups, including, but not limited to diversity of age; gender and sexual identity and socio-economic status.

Regional diversity plans

The Department of Health regions have each developed a regional diversity plan for 2012-15 that outlines their respective HACC diversity priorities, and the associated actions to address the priorities over the triennium. HACC agencies are required to incorporate the directions of their respective regional plan priorities into their agency HACC diversity plan.

Policy

The Diversity planning and practice policy statement was approved by the Minister on 13 April 2011.

Further information is available about diversity planning and practice, including:

• Implementation
• Strengthening diversity planning and practice: A guide for Victorian Home and Community Care Services
• Population profiles and maps
• Information about diverse groups and responsive practice
• HACC Diversity advisor and access and support.

Downloads

Barwon south western regional diversity plan 2012-15 (300kb, pdf)

Gippsland regional diversity plan 2012-15 (46kb, pdf)

Grampians regional diversity plan 2012-15 (480kb, pdf)

Hume regional diversity plan 2012-15 (150kb, pdf)

Loddon Mallee regional diversity plan 2012-15 (171kb, pdf)

Eastern metro regional diversity plan 2012-15 (81kb, pdf)

North and West metro regional diversity plan 2012-15 (191kb, pdf)

Southern regional diversity plan 2012-15 (85kb, pdf)

Diversity planning and practice policy statement (56kb, pdf)

Contact

top of page