THE CONFERENCE
The 2026 National First Nations Elders Wellbeing Conference is scheduled to be held in Gold Coast QLD on August 3 - 5, 2026. The 2026 National First Nations Elders Wellbeing Conference will be a transformative event, bringing together aged care professionals, service managers, and frontline workers to engage in crucial discussions about the landmark changes introduced by Australia’s new aged care reforms. This conference provides a vital platform to network, share insights, and collaborate on the implementation of these reforms, with a particular focus on My Aged Care's consumer-directed care model, the Support at Home program, and the single assessment service. These initiatives are designed to empower frail older individuals living in the community by offering greater choice, control, and independence over their care, allowing them to live safely and with dignity in their own homes.
The conference will delve into the successes and challenges of these reforms while exploring culturally appropriate models of support and engagement, ensuring that First Nations Elders can live life on their own terms. Acknowledging the power of storytelling within Aboriginal & Torres Straits communities, the event will highlight how cultural practices can foster healing and build stronger community connections, setting a path for the future of aged care services.
A central theme of the conference will be the continued empowerment of First Nations Elders, ensuring they have true "choice and control" over their care. Attendees will work together to create culturally respectful, adaptable resources and tools to navigate the evolving landscape of community services, disability, and aged care. This collaboration will ensure that First Nations Elders are equipped to make decisions that reflect their personal needs, values, and aspirations, allowing them to live with respect, autonomy, and safety.
This conference aims to highlight the eight priority areas which My Aged Care clients identified as important to them, based on the survey results outlined in the Consumer Experience Report (CER) for home-based and community-based aged care services. These priority areas include but are not limited to: control, Interpersonal interaction, Flexibility, Local residence in Country, Affordability, Administrative and financial literacy, Safety and Timeliness of service provision. Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Elders and their families would more likely access aged care services when it allows them to stay on Country, being cared for by their own mob and the ability to maintain their connection to country, culture and community.
The conference will also be a great resource and avenue to identify models of support and engagement that reflect various cultural practices of our communities, to ensure that First Nations Peoples who are frail aged can live life their way. Sharing stories and story-telling is so strong in Aboriginal communities, in that it leads the way to support healing in our community so we can move forward and get things right. Reflecting the importance of culturally respectful planning resources and tools to adapt the changes in community services, disability and aged care sectors, that is our Elders will have “choice and control” over their own lives and empowered to make decisions for their own care, according to their personal needs and wants.
Furthermore, the conference also aims to give a voice to frail aged, over 50 years old Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Elders and their family carers to share their needs, their concerns and share their story and experiences. Similarly, this conference presents a chance for Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander frontline aged care support workers, mainstream community and allied health workers serving First Nations Peoples who are frail aged, to engage with industry leaders and peers, learn cutting edge innovations and techniques as well as hear firsthand experiences from Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Community Elders . The conference will also examine innovative ways to activate and engage family carers in employment opportunities and challenge delegates individually and collectively to identify the way forward for their organisations. This conference is for anyone who is interested in strengthening and upholding the rights of our Elders. With a rich diversity of speakers, delegates and exhibitors, this two-day conference will empower you, inspire you and invigorate your passion for supporting your clients to reach their goals of keeping their independence and stay at home for as long as they can, stay on Country as safe as they can.
THE CONFERENCE PHILOSOPHY & BELIEFS
The conference philosophy is based upon the holistic model approach with emphasis on consumer directed care, which requires collaborative partnership between the client, their family, carers and all service providers, working together to support First Nations communities in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander frail aged peoples. The foundation of the conference is to share and discuss positive models of change and initiatives. The event is structured in such a way as to develop a wider methodology towards aged care and home and community programs that are culturally appropriate, and therefore more likely to succeed. This conference is devoted to showing the positives in addressing My Aged Care successes and challenges in our communities today. Hence, the event has been developed with the belief that it is time to promote the positives and successes of the My Aged Care platform, whilst also recognising that we still have a long way to go to closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage.
THE CONFERENCE AIMS & OBJECTIVES
The conference objectives are designed to empower and stimulate discussion in a positive manner that can and may be used back in our work environment to further develop strength, unity and education. Moreover, one of the most powerful objectives that Indigenous peoples have is the strength to overcome adversity through the power of sharing knowledge and therefore, the conference will attempt to foster all of the issues set out in this conference. The conference believes that the participation of First Peoples in the consultation, planning, formulation of policies and programs for Closing the Gap in Indigenous disadvantage to include the implementation of the My Aged Care's consumer-directed care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and other aspects of the My Aged Care Strategy is fundamentally important to achieve our desired goal of closing the gap. Moreover, the conference also aims to:
Provide an open and frank forum for discussion
Network and lend support to individuals and families working in the aged care sector
Help establish and grow a national network and resources through information sharing
Show that there are great efforts being made to make change for our Elders
Exchange information regarding the successes and challenges in the roll-out and My Aged Care implementation
To bring together all sectors of the community as a united voice
Bring together researchers, service providers, government agencies, policy makers & organisations
Foster partnerships between government, NGOs, community groups and Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander peoples living with at home in advanced years and their families
THE CONFERENCE THEME
The 2026 National First Nations Elder's Wellbeing Conference focuses on how service providers are finding ways to deliver high quality support to First Nations peoples who are frail aged in the My Aged Care context to tackle some of the difficult issues that have threatened to derail the delivery of My Aged Care in our communities. The conference themes include:
Control Over Health & Wellbeing
Community Living – housing and supported living accommodation
Residential and Centre-based Day Respite Services
Mobility & Transport
Life skills, education and employment
Aged Care Workforce Sector Development
Geriatric Nurse Patient Ratio in Residential Facilities
Technology & Innovations
Reablement
The conference will highlight how service providers are working together, with government and with Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander peoples and their families to find innovative ways to address the above topics. The conference will include keynote speakers, practical workshops and concurrent sessions as well as yarning circles and interactive panel discussions.
The conference is not politically based, rather should be seen as an opportunity to access information that is not readily available. The conference envisions that partnerships and working in unison should form the basis of closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage, particularly in Aboriginal & Torres Straits Islander peoples whose living with a disability.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Community Support Workers and Aged Care Workers
Indigenous Community Workers
Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander Elders
Nurses, Doctors, Psychiatrists, Social Workers and Allied Health Workers
Community groups and Human Rights Enthusiasts
Family relationship workers
Elders and Community leaders
Indigenous women's and men’s groups
CEOs, Executive Management, Program Managers
First Nations groups, Human Rights Enthusiasts
Government and Non-Government Organisation Representatives
Field, Remote & Rural Health Workers
YOUR INVITATION
We wish to invite Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from Australia and throughout, to attend the conference to share and gather information. We also extend an invitation to participants to join us at the conference dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. To ensure that delegates attend and participate in the conference experience, it is important to note that to show accountability of delegates in meeting their obligation; each delegate will receive a Certificate of Attendance only when they attend 85% of all the conference sessions. In addition, at the end of the conference, delegates will receive a copy of all papers & presentations presented at the conference through Dropbox.
