The Illawarra team hunting for seniors falling through the cracks
The initiative aims to reduce pressure on hospitals by helping seniors and carers access support earlier.
Some live alone in social housing. Others are caring for ageing parents while juggling jobs, mortgages and families of their own.
Many have never registered with My Aged Care. Some don’t know where to start. Others have tried, become frustrated and given up.
According to CareWays Community CEO Matthew Martin, they are among the Illawarra’s most vulnerable.
“They’re not turning up to information sessions. They’re not following government Facebook pages,” Mr Martin said.
“They’re the people who need support the most, but they’re often the hardest to reach.”
Now, a new $3.6 million NSW Government pilot aims to change that.
CareWays has been selected as one of four organisations across the state to deliver the new Connecting Seniors and Carers Program, covering Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven.
The initiative is designed to help older people and unpaid carers navigate an increasingly complex aged care system.
The pilot will provide information, referrals, outreach and short-term case coordination for seniors and unpaid carers struggling to navigate aged care, disability and community support services.
For Mr Martin, the issue isn’t a lack of services. It’s getting people through the front door.
“Even seniors that are quite capable ... navigating through the aged care system is really a challenge,” Mr Martin said.
A single unsuccessful call to My Aged Care could lead people to postpone seeking help for months.
According to figures released by the NSW Health Minister’s office, the number of stranded patients in Illawarra Shoalhaven hospitals increased from 121 to 166 between March 2025 and March 2026.
Mr Martin said the program was ultimately about preventing vulnerable seniors from reaching crisis point and ending up in hospital unnecessarily.
“If isolated seniors and their carers do not plan ahead effectively, research demonstrates that after an incident with their health they can potentially end up staying in hospital for a very long time and block beds that could be needed by other community members,” he said.
CareWays plans to recruit a dedicated coordinator and adopt an outreach model to find the seniors who need support.
The outreach model builds on CareWays’ work with the NSW Reconstruction Authority following the 2024 Illawarra floods, where staff visited affected neighbourhoods, door-knocked vulnerable residents and connected people with recovery services.
Martin said the experience demonstrated the value of meeting people face-to-face rather than waiting for them to seek help.
The approach is labour-intensive but, Mr Martin argues, necessary.
“You can’t solve this with a website and a few social media posts,” he said.
“You have to meet people where they are.”
But he believes planning before a crisis hits is critical.
“You don’t need to do it alone,” he said.
The $3.6 million pilot will be delivered across 16 regional NSW local government areas by four community organisations selected through a competitive tender process.
Alongside CareWays in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, funding has been allocated to Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation in Far West NSW, Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Cooperative in the Blue Mountains and Lithgow, and Northern Rivers Community Gateway across six Northern Rivers councils.
NSW Minister for Seniors Jodie Harrison said the program was designed to create “simpler and clearer pathways to support” for older people and carers who can become lost in a fragmented service system.
“The four organisations funded through this new program have strong local service footprints and are well placed to empower seniors and carers to remain connected to the communities they know and love,” she said.
It’s that time of the year: EOFY sale time.
Yes, you can save money with us, too.