The document discusses the importance of values, ethics, and effective communication in aged care respite services in Australia, highlighting the challenges faced by older individuals, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It emphasizes the need for social workers to uphold ethical standards, recognize issues like ageism and social isolation, and improve accessibility to services for the aging population. Furthermore, it stresses the necessity for culturally inclusive practices and effective communication skills to enhance the quality of care provided to older people.

2. Table of Content
1. VALUES AND ETHICS FOR AGED CARE RESPITE SERVICE .......................................... 1
2. CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSITY IN AGED CARE RESPITE SERVICES ........ 3
3. COMMUNICATIONA AND INTERPERSONAL SKILL IN AGED CARE RESPITE
SERVICES...................................................................................................................................... 5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................ 6

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In Australia, as well as developed countries in the world, the level of fertility rate and increased
life expectancy is the result of the rapid increase of aging population (Warburton et al, 2009).
Hence, care services and standards of aged care respite service should be taken into serious
considerations, especially in term of values and ethics, culturally inclusive and diversity, and
communication and interpersonal skills.
1. VALUES AND ETHICS FOR AGED CARE RESPITE SERVICE
Initially, I realized that to understand and to follow standards of values and ethics for aged care
respite service, I need to understand the way how social workers do that. Having read in
Practice Standard 2013, I defined that social workers need to make sure three things such as
integrating the values of social work with their practices, upholding responsibilities and acting
appropriately to face with ethical problems and issues. However, for me, the most important
aspect is to practice social work in the Code of Ethics (2010) in aged care respite service.
Handle practice Code of Ethics (2010)
Acknowledging that there are many ways in which aged people continuously continue to
contribute to society and families, at the same time, I have also recognized some challenges
which aged people in Australia have confronted to, especially discrimination and social isolation
(AASW, 2013). For me, these challenges have arisen from the protection of human rights,
ageism and social exclusion.
In aspect of the protection of human rights, aged people have upheld the same legislation with
other citizens in accordance with Age Discrimination Act 2004. More noteworthy, in international
level, even there has no special tool to protect their rights, except for the main human right
generally such as International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and on Economic
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Regarding to local level, Australian government has
supported and built some popular rights for older people just from some independence,
participation, care and dignity (AASW, 2013, p, 7). These things are perhaps strong enough for
older people to feel respected for, especially in the situation in which under the influence of
global push of international convention not only for older people but also for others such as
children and women, older people can be discriminated against while arguments to have formal
agreements to uphold their rights are not far enough to maintain and develop the protection on
them (Conference of The General Assembly of the United Stations, 2010). However, another
issue has been also identified that the low level of uniformity and federal levels has possessed

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by Australia’s legal framework and exceptions of some aspects in Age Discrimination Act 2004
in both international and level cannot promote the best quality. Regarding to Ageism, it can be
said that Australian government has implemented this aspect quite well. For example, Not only
ageism is the entrenched features of Australian society but also it is supported and developed
by the government in multiple of affecting ways such as speech, media & arts, health system,
employment and affordable housing system (AASW, 2013). However, considered the main
trend of Australian society until 20150, aged group has increased to more than quadruple will
create more pressure on aged care spending and social work standards for aged persons.
Moreover, social exclusion is also defined as one of the most critical issues in the policy of aged
service and then social inclusion is considered the policy concept of some countries such as UK
and Australia (Bartlett, 2010). While US Center for Economic and Social Inclusion (2007) stated
the importance of social inclusion in ensuring all people can achieve their potential in life,
Australian policy context focuses on practical policies such as the establishment of Social
Inclusion Unit and new Productive Ageing Package (DEEWR 2010-2014), and recently, Living
Longer Living Better in 2011 to meet the needs of older people and sustain future finance
(COTA, 2008).
Having discussed about supports of Australian government for aged care service and
challenges which need to be confront, social workers should improve the value of social work
for aged people in terms of the quality of social standard handling, the reduction of age
discrimination and social inclusion, I have learned that social workers like I must handle
practices of value and ethics in accordance with Code of Ethics (2010) and others such as Age
Discrimination Act 2004 and Social Inclusion programs. Handling practices must follow some
indicator. First, social justice and human right framework are defined as the scope to handle
practices. Second, social workers have involved into the process of facilitating people’s
empowerment and works, leading to get rid of all violations relating to human rights. Third,
finding inequalities and injustice in social systems and structures or the failures to meet
international standards and then making changes for such systems should be in charge of
social worker (AASW, 2013).
To manage ethical dilemmas

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2. CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSITY IN AGED CARE RESPITE
SERVICES
Aging population in Australian or New Zealand has raised the attention from many scholars and
then studies or reports of care services for aging population is not limited. However, I have
found, when reading many studies, that sub group of aging population as older people from
culturally and linguistically diversity (CALD), in Australian suffered many difficulties and
challenges than other sub groups to access aged care service while this sub group accounts for
the large percent of aging population, nearly 25% in 2011 (ABS, 2005), which was caused by
the trend of migration to Australia and as the result, as Anglo Celtic culture base, Australia
becomes multicultural nation (Weston and Soriance, 2003). Hence, I thought, to contribute to
improve social work standards for aged service generally, this relevant issues is to emphasize
on standards of culturally inclusive and diversity so that social workers can follow such
standards to get the comprehensive understanding and knowledge of cultural diversity to work
with aging population effectively and inclusively.
Initially, for me as social worker for aged care social workers, the most significant thing is “to
work respectful and inclusively with culture difference and diversity.” (AASW, 2013). I have
understood that issues which aged people with CALD background have encountered are
caused by their difference and complexity in their demands as the consequences of cultural and
linguistic diversity (Smith & Gerstof, 2006). As far as I have known from many reports and
studies that the biggest problem of older people from CALD background is the access and
utilization of care services because they have struggled with their lack of understanding on
service caused by language issues and multicultural services in combination with the lack of
help from strangers, especially social workers. How can social workers improve this situation?
The necessary thing is that social workers or practitioners must demonstrate their knowledge of
diversify in all aspects of cultures and even economic status,, understand the way how impacts
of culture differences on practice, and also to adapt as well as modify practices to work more
inclusively and effectively (AASW, 2013, p. 11). For example, in the situation between health
professionals and CALD older people, it is big problem if health professionals cannot
understand and diagnose illness. Hence, health professionals must have adequate education
and skills to ensure the quality of care service (Hsu et al, 2005; Warburton et al, 2009).
As sub method to work respectful ad inclusively with culture difference and diversity, to engage
in cultural support and development, consult with community, and develop knowledge and

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practice in working differently cultural group is also the significant element (AASW, 2013)
because the more the number of CALD older people, the more important the community-based
service becomes. For me, this might be right because I understood some issues of aged care
service for CALD older people in Australia. First, as studied by many scholars such as Hogan
(2004) or Karmel et al (2003), CALD older people have used less residential and care service
than other Australian people. Second, as explained as the reasons why CALD have used less
service, the issues of design and arrangement of space or support appropriately by staff to
access care service are suggested by many CALD older people (Moriarty & Butt, 2004). Hence,
these issues are similar to the suggestion that social workers must recognize good practice and
refute discriminatory practice and skills to CALD older people in both international and national
level (AASW, 2013, p. 11).
As analyzed in the Value and Ethics, social isolation is defined as the issue of ethical dilemma
when handling value and ethics standards. This issue is also faced by CALD older people
because this isolation is caused by the period of migration, the lack of information from social
workers and some issues to access service under the influence of cultural differences. This
issue becomes the factor encouraging social workers to “Proactively and respectively promote
the rights of culturally diverse and minority groups in society and creatively adapts and modifiers
practice in order to work effectively and inclusively with CALD older people.” (AASW, 2013, p.
11).
Having discussed cultural diversity in Australian society, especially in sub group as aged
people, I now realize that Australia has the right way to handle culturally inclusive and diversity
standard. The most important standard is to work inclusively and respectively with cultural
differences and diversity. I feel confident to state such a way because I understood issues and
challenges which CALD older people in Australia and link responses what should be leveraged
by social workers with what is regulated in AASW (2013). Issues from CALD older people in
Australia are the access ability of service, aged care model and social isolation. Hence,
according methods to reduce and eliminate such issues are to recognize the Diversity within
through demonstrating knowledge on difference culture and the complexity and impacts on
society, build existing strengths and develop cultural competencies through engaging
professional development, supports and consulting, promoting rights of small groups, and
reflecting own values, and cultivate antidiscrimination through recognizing and challenging
discrimination practices. This means that there is the consistency in issues, responses, and
standards in Australia.

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3. COMMUNICATIONA AND INTERPERSONAL SKILL IN AGED CARE
RESPITE SERVICES
From above analyzed, I have implied that social workers have handled Values and
Ethics in accordance with Code of Ethics (2010), managed ethical dilemmas and issues which
have arisen from practice, and worked exclusively and inclusively with cultural difference and
diversity. Besides the skills which are leveraged to apply practices into reality, social workers
are required to “demonstrate skills to communicate and work effectively with others” (AASM,
2013, p. 15). AASM (2013) has developed four aspects of communication and interpersonal
skills. First, social workers must communicate with people from different cultures in the effective
way. Second, they must own deep understanding and communication with details and nature of
service which are offered to people. Third, they know to how to leverage benefits of team
working in team environment to deliver service effectively. And fourth, they should not ignore the
contribution of information technology in communicating and offering services (AASW, 2013, p.
15). Combining with my knowledge about issues and problems to handle value and ethics
standards and offer care service to culturally diversified aged group, I have completely agreed
with such standards of communication and interpersonal skills to improve the efficiency of
delivering aged care respite services. Below is the explanation of my opinion.
Improving communication and providing information to older people, especially CALD
people
Team working
Information Technology updates

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REFERENCES
Australian Association of Social Workers AASW (2010). Code of Ethics 2010. Australian
Association of Social Workers
Australian Association of Social Workers AASW (2013). Practice Standards. Australian
Association of Social Workers AASW
Australian Association of Social Workers AASW (2013). Ageing in Australia. Australian
Association of Social Workers
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005). Australian Bureau of Statistics, yearbook Australia, 2005,
population, country of birth. Canberra: ABS.
Bartlett, H. (2010). Presentation about “Social Isolation of Older People in Regional Australia:
the research agenda.” Monash University, Gippsland Campus
Bartlett, H., Warburton, J., Lui, C., Peach, L., and Carrol, M. (2012). Preventing social isolation
in later life: Findings and insights from a pilot Queensland intervention study. Ageing and
Society, 33(7), 1167 – 1189.
COTA (2008). Policy compendium, COTA National Policy Office. Retrieved from
http://www.cotavic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/policycompendium.pdf
Hogan, W.P. (2004). Review of pricing arrangement in residential aged care. Canberra:
Commonweath of Australia.
Hsu, C., Lee, S. and O’Connor, M. (2005) Issues affecting access to palliative care service for
older Chinese people in Australia. ACCNS Journal of Community, 10, 9 – 11
Karmel, R. Jenkins, A., Angus, P., Bolwer, E. and Braun, P. (2003). Ageing and aged care. In
Gibson, D., Madden, R. and Stuer, A. (Eds). Australia’s welfare. Canberra: Australian
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Maidment, J., Egan, R. and Wexter, J. (2011). Social work with older people from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds: Using research to inform practice. Aotearoa New
Zealand Social Work, 23(3), 3-15
Milat, A.J., Carroll, T.E., &Taylor, J.J.(2005).Culturally and linguistically diverse population
Health social marketing campaigns in Australia: A consideration of evidence and related issues.
Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 16, 20-25.
Pate (2014). Social Isolation: Its impact on the mental health and wellbeig of older Victorians.
Cota Victoria Working Paper No. 1. COTA For Older Australians.
Smith, J., and Gerstorf, D. (2006). Ageing Differently: Potential and Limits. In S.O. Daatland &
Biggs, S. (2006). Ageing and Diversity. Bristol: The Policy Press.

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Warburton, J., Bartlette, H. and Rao, V. (2009). Ageing and Cultural Diversity: Policy and
Practice Issues. Australian Social Work, 62(2), 168 – 185
Weston, R.Q/L. and Soriano, G. (2003). Australia’s Ageing Yet Diverse Population. Family
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