The year that was: Anglicare Southern Queensland CEO Sue Cooke reflects on 2024

Few would disagree that 2024 was another big year for aged care with seemingly non-stop action from top to bottom. Factor in outside influences and countless organisations working within the aged care sector undoubtedly experienced some incredible highlights.

One such organisation is Anglicare Southern Queensland (ASQ). Not only does ASQ provide residential and home care services to older people, but it is also involved in youth support, foster care, family and wellbeing and homelessness support.

Immense pride can be found among this expansive array of support services for ASQ Chief Executive Officer Sue Cooke. She praised the launch of its youth homelessness accommodation project this year which will support up to 42 young people aged between 16-25 who are either experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

“The housing crisis has escalated throughout Australia and I am pleased that Anglicare Southern Queensland is committed to this project, and others, which provide prevention, intervention and sustainable housing solutions to reduce this devastating issue,” Ms Cooke shared. 

“With a strategic goal to lean into the housing crisis, we are also developing responses to support the many over 65-year-old people who are presenting to our crisis accommodation services. The other emerging homeless group which is of extreme concern to Anglicare is the workforce, who have been pushed out of the rental market in key areas where we operate in.”

Another project spotlighted by Ms Cooke is their partnership with UMPS to trial a ‘Home Hub’ which provides an easy-to-use communication solution between the older person living at home and Anglicare.

“Early indicators are that it provides an option for our clients to receive messages on their service times and allocated carer and contact their case manager if they need to vary their service without going through the call centre,” she explained.

“This solution contributes to our strategic objective of ‘being easy to deal with’. Underpinned by the same objective, we went live in early December with the first of a three-phase rollout of our HR Ecosystem – a system-enabled way of engaging with our workforce and making it ‘easy for them to deal with Anglicare’. The investment into our workforce is key to ongoing sustainability.”

Elsewhere, ASQ continued to grow in the dementia care space. It received government funding to build and deliver three Specialist Dementia Care Programs (SDCP) at residential care homes, including St Martin’s, Abri and EM Tooth.

“These eight and nine-bed facilities will complement our existing SDCP in North Brisbane and provide tailored care to reduce symptoms of dementia that each individual may experience so they can be moved into less intensive care settings,” Ms Cooke said.

ASQ also successfully tendered for federal funding to deliver a support and respite program for carers of people living with dementia. Ms Cooke said this win will further strengthen the focus on delivering leading and holistic dementia care.

Another win came via the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands consumer survey. Anglicare Southern Queensland was recognised for the sixth consecutive year in the Aged Care & Retirement Villages category and a third consecutive year in Home Care (Queensland).

Staff provide an average of 5,000 episodes of care and support each day to support older people to live independently in their homes

“I am humbled that our staff have been recognised for their dedication and commitment to our clients and their families,” she added.  

Home care will be a focal point throughout 2025 as the Support at Home program replaces Home Care Packages and other home care initiatives. With over 35,000 home care clients and more than 1,600 Home and Community Services staff, ASQ is preparing everyone for major changes. 

This includes adopting and embedding relevant reform requirements in their processes to ensure ASQ is ready to support a growing number of older Queenslanders. 

Ms Cooke said the pace of change is challenging, though, and she would like to see more time for organisational planning and firm commitments on resourcing to ensure success.

Queensland’s population growth is higher than other states and whilst the opportunity this brings us as a provider is exciting, it is also daunting to reflect on the infrastructure, workforce and resources needed to adequately provide the service level that will be required,” Ms Cooke said.

“It is vital for our organisation to take the time to appropriately train our employees, embed the changes and ensure we continue to deliver the highest quality care to our valued clients

“Anglicare has been delivering services for more than 150 years and has demonstrated agility in responding to reforms that we believe deliver ongoing improvements to the aged care system. Whilst we do not underplay the effort required to implement the changes – we have a plan and a great team delivering it.”

Despite the challenges, there is continued optimism for Ms Cooke and those at Anglicare Southern Queensland. The organisation is excited over what’s to come and it hopes to see all aged care stakeholders recognise what’s most important during this reform journey.

“Ultimately, we are in the business of caring for people. I hope that the best interests of the millions of older Australians remain at the forefront of decision-making for both Government and organizations alike. We need to make sure older Australians are valued and cared for, both now and into the future,” Ms Cooke added.