Culturally Appropriate Care in Australia: The AfCAS Mission

Australia's increasingly diverse population deserves care that understands and respects their culture. The Association for Culturally Appropriate Services (AfCAS) is assisting in making this a reality.

As Australia's population becomes increasingly multicultural, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities require services that reflect their experiences, traditions, languages, and values. This rings especially true in aged care, where the quality of support received by older individuals can significantly impact their dignity, well-being, and sense of belonging.

What does culturally appropriate care look like?

Culturally appropriate care acknowledges that people's cultural and linguistic backgrounds shape how they communicate, how they perceive health and aging, how they interact with services, and how they maintain ties with family and community. Culturally appropriate care for Older Australians from CALD backgrounds can look like access to language support, culturally-engaging activities and events, and care providers that value diversity. Rather than simply providing translated materials, culturally appropriate care seeks to establish services where people feel heard, respected, and understood.

How does AfCAS assist CALD communities?

AfCAS is a non-profit organization whose primary objective is to enable people from diverse backgrounds to access appropriate care services. AfCAS advocates for inclusion, accountability, and quality service while nurturing relationships between communities, care providers, researchers, and other organizations. AfCAS offers practical assistance to organizations through cultural awareness training, mentoring, cultural audits and charters, community engagement and advisory services. These initiatives assist aged care and other service providers in enhancing their capacity for cultural inclusion and responding to the needs of diverse communities more effectively.

Connecting communities, research, and care

AfCAS acts as a crucial link between community knowledge and professional expertise. Projects undertaken by AfCAS have been aimed at supporting CALD carers, reducing social isolation among CALD seniors, strengthening support for dementia and palliative care and assisting care organizations in developing more culturally appropriate service delivery.

Examples of recent initiatives exemplify this approach. In 2025, AfCAS collaborated with the National Ageing Research Institute to provide dementia resources to CALD communities, thereby creating opportunities for carers, community members and aged care professionals to engage with research through real-life stories and conversations.

Why are culturally appropriate services important?

Every person should have the opportunity to access care without compromising their culture, language, or identity. For CALD seniors and their families, utilizing culturally appropriate services can break down barriers and reinforce their sense of connectedness, dignity, and belonging. For providers, increasing cultural awareness and capability can result in services that are more responsive to the communities they serve. AfCAS is helping bridge the gap – between people and providers, culture and care, and communities and the services they require.

Learn more about AfCAS

Whether you are a CALD community member, a family caregiver, an

aged care professional, an organization or a community partner, AfCAS is striving to facilitate greater access to culturally appropriate services throughout Australia. Explore AfCAS, examine its services, and discover how you can contribute at afcas.net.