Positive Ageing Goals and Objectives - as at May 2008
1. Income
Goal:
Secure and adequate income for older people
Objectives:
1.1 Review income support provisions to ensure they provide an adequate standard of living
1.2 Monitor living standards for all people
1.3 Monitor general and retirement savings behaviour over time
1.4 Investigate the situation of older people living in relative material hardship
1.5 Monitor and plan for the implications of population ageing to ensure continued security of income for older people
2. Health
Goal:
Equitable, timely, affordable and accessible health services for older people
Objectives:
2.1 Promotion of holistic-based wellness throughout the life cycle
2.2 Develop options that allow integrated planning, funding and delivery of primary and secondary health services, residential care and community support services
2.3 Ensure the availability of multi-disciplinary comprehensive needs assessment for older people throughout New Zealand
2.4 Promote healthy nutrition and healthy active lifestyles
2.5 Promote the whānau ora concept of Māori health including developing health service options that include Māori health providers and whānau supporting whānau
3. Housing
Goal:
Affordable and appropriate housing options for older people
Objectives:
3.1 Maintain income-related rents policy for state housing
3.2 Provide adequate assistance towards the cost of local authority rates
3.3 Strengthen legal protection for retirement village residents
3.4 Work with local government and other agencies to increase the supply of universal design and energy-efficient low-rental housing, including supported pensioner housing complexes
3.5 Investigate options for government assistance to enable low income families to purchase homes
3.6 Encourage the provision of a range of sustainable housing choices for older people
3.7 Develop low cost communal housing and support housing arrangements for older people, including promoting the development of kaumätua housing
4. Transport
Goal:
Affordable and accessible transport options for older people
Objectives:
4.1 Review public transport options so that they are accessible and user-friendly in terms of safety, routes, timetables and affordability
4.2 Promote driver education and safety programmes for older road users
4.3 Work towards reducing transport related barriers to accessing health and community services
4.4 Monitor trends, including re-licensing rates, crash statistics and on-road test referrals for older drivers
5. Ageing in the Community
Goal:
Older people feel safe and secure and can age in the community
Objectives:
5.1 Promote and implement safety awareness programmes for older people
5.2 Develop a wide range of services that support ageing in the community
5.3 Develop policy options that facilitate ageing in the community
5.4 Improve delivery of information about provision of services that enable older people to age in the community
6. Cultural Diversity
Goal:
A range of culturally appropriate service allows choices for older people
Objectives:
6.1 Increase the number of quality services that are designed and delivered by Māori and for Māori
6.2 Increase the number of quality services that are designed and delivered by Pacific people and for Pacific people
6.3 Engage with ethnic communities to identify issues of concern to older people and develop options for addressing them
7. Rural
Goal:
Older people living in rural communities are not disadvantaged when accessing services
Objectives:
7.1 Promote and support policies that encourage opportunities for growth and development for older people living in rural communities
7.2 Improve service delivery to rural areas
7.3 Ensure policies address the additional costs associated with accessing or providing services to sparsely populated and rural communities
7.4 Improve the availability of health and community support services for older people in rural areas
7.5 Assess the transport needs of rural older people to access services and activities in urban areas and develop options to address these needs
8. Attitudes
Goal:
People of all ages have positive attitudes to ageing and older people
Objectives:
8.1 Ensure government agency advertising and publicity campaigns portray positive images of older people
8.2 Promote intergenerational programmes in schools and communities
8.3 Foster collaborative relationships between central and local government, business, non-government and community sectors that promote positive ageing
8.4 Provide opportunities for older people to share their wisdom and experiences in their communities so younger people have positive attitudes to ageing
9. Employment
Goal:
Elimination of ageism and the promotion of flexible work options
Objectives:
9.1 Implement fair and inclusive human resource policies in the government sector that support the employment of older workers and entitlements to training; provide family friendly workplaces, flexible working options and recognise those with caring responsibilities
9.2 Assist those providing government services to older people to have an understanding and awareness of older people's issues
9.3 Work with local government and the business sector to: eliminate age discrimination in hiring practices, enable staff to participate in work-based training, and encourage the provision of flexible working arrangements that enable older workers to remain in paid work as long as they are able
9.4 Promote the continuation of paid employment into later years for those who wish to remain in paid work, in order to both prepare for retirement and to supplement retirement income
10. Opportunities
Goal:
Increasing opportunities for personal growth and community participation
Objectives:
10.1 Improve opportunities for education for all
10.2 Encourage and promote adult education and retraining initiatives
10.3 Recognise the experience and utilise the skills of older people
10.4 Promote and support volunteers and their organisations
10.5 Enable and support older people to access information and communication technology
10.6 Promote opportunities to enhance exchanges of cultural knowledge and language skills
