Welcome to our June Newsletter

In May, we celebrated National Volunteer Week 2026! I want to say ‘Thank you’ to our wonderful volunteers and group leaders. Your hard work connects diverse cultures, shapes our services, and strengthens our community. We couldn’t do this without you!

Our Winter Outings Calendar is here!

Enjoy the new outing locations this winter, whether it is for exploring nature, shopping, or joining friends at the Coffee Club. It’s the perfect way to for meet new people, spend time with friends, and explore different places. Download our Winter Calendar click. You can call us today on 8241 8000 to book your spot!

In line with government advice, we are continuing to conserve fuel in the current fuel crisis and focusing on exciting local destinations. This means less time on the road and more time enjoying the sights! We have so much to discover nearby, and we hope you love our Winter outings.

Free Sausage Sizzle outing at Wangal Park

This month, we held a free Sausage Sizzle outing at Wangal Park in Croydon. It is a beautiful park with great facilities, and it was wonderful to see over 40 people join us and spend time together! The rain held off for us to enjoy food, chatting, and laughing. See the pictures in the next section below.

We will have another free Sausage Sizzle outing for our City and Eastern Suburbs clients on 16 June 2026. Call us now on 8241 8000 to book your spot!

June Special Outings

We have some exciting special trips this month that aren’t listed in our regular social calendar! Join us for a Berrylicious Strawberry outing at Buxton to get fresh strawberries straight from the farm (eat all the strawberries you can for $25, or buy them at the shop). You can also take a longer journey out to the Blue Mountains to enjoy the beautiful winter scenery, or join our Wollongong trip to take in the ocean views and visit the Wollongong Art Gallery.

These trips are available across all areas, and we hope you love them! Spots are limited, so please call us right away on 8241 8000 to secure your seat. See the section below for more details!

Book Now for your VIVID lights – $15

Vivid Sydney is back! This is always a highlight of our Winter Calendar, so get ready for a vivid night. Call us now on 8241 8000 to book your spot!

2026-2027 Budget: Aged Care Update

The 2026–2027 Federal Budget delivers a $3.7 billion investment in aged care, prioritising increased access to home care packages, financial relief for older Australians, and incentives for new residential beds, more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics , lowering the cost of life-changing medicines, and expanding support for older Australians, including making personal care services like showering free. To read the full announcement and find more details, visit the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care website.

There was nothing in the budget announcement about the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). This is the program that funds our community transport and social support services. It was very disappointing and we are concerned that there is no decision about the future of CHSP beyond June 2027.

We are advocating strongly on behalf of all our clients and community to retain CHSP as the entry level program for aged care. A foundational program that supports people to live independently in their community and provides social connection for health and wellbeing.

Help Us Improve Our Services –Annual Survey

Your feedback is really important to us and helps us to improve our services. Please complete our Annual Survey and tell us what you like about our services and what you think could be improved —click here.

In June we will conduct a more formal feedback process including an annual survey and face-to-face consultations across all areas.