Last week, Warrigal hosted a free community support seminar for people in the Illawarra community to learn more about how to navigate the aged care system. This event was designed to equip older people and their loved ones with the information and advice they need to make informed decisions for their future.

The event began with an opening address from Jenni Hutchins, Warrigal CEO, who spoke about the importance of helping our older people feel safe and well-informed as they navigate this new chapter of their life.

“We believe every care journey should be compassionate, personalised, and focused on individual needs. Today’s session aims to offer support, alleviate your fear of the unknown, and provide you with the tools to make decisions with clarity and peace of mind.”

Warrigal was joined by a diverse panel of speakers who provided unique insights into various areas of aged care. The first half of the presentation featured Di Chalk, a specialist financial advisor from Fiducian Financial Services, who provided an overview of the sector and recommendations about financial matters, such as estate planning, enduring power of attorney and care expenses. Throughout her address, Di stressed the importance of being prepared, setting yourself up for success and thinking about these decisions sooner, rather than later.

Following Di was Benjamin Webster, a representative from NSW Health, who delivered an informative presentation about the journey of entering the aged care system. He covered topics such as how to get an aged care assessment, how to find a service provider, how to raise concerns, and most importantly, what the upcoming changes to the sector are from July 1st.

A short Q&A session followed this presentation, where attendees were given the opportunity to ask Jenni and the guest speakers any questions. The panel was also joined by aged care advocate and member of the Council of Elders, Val Fell OAM, who spoke about her personal experiences within the aged care industry.

Hope Prosser, Warrigal’s Customer Relations Manager, kicked off the latter half of the seminar, to introduce the numerous services provided by Warrigal, including Community Village Living, Residential Aged Care (including temporary and ongoing respite), Warrigal Social, and Home Services. The Warrigal Customer Relations team were also available on the day to answer any queries and connect attendees with services in their local community.

The next expert speaker, Nicole Hughes from Carer Gateway, provided a supportive presentation about the resources and services available to those who care for our older people. Her address focused on providing helpful information to carers to empower them to access support services, such as counselling, coaching and peer-support programs.

Jenni then invited Warrigal Warilla resident, Violet Sully, to the stage to share her journey with Warrigal and her personal experience living in a community village. Warrigal is extremely grateful to have had Violet at this event, as her interview provided excellent insight for others looking to access services.

The event concluded with light refreshments, and the opportunity for attendees to mingle with others, connect with service providers, and ask our industry experts their questions. The event space was set up in expo-style, with information tables and banners, to provide attendees the opportunity to collect relevant printed resources.

This event was extremely successful, with many attendees leaving feeling content, educated and better prepared for the future.

Warrigal are hosting a second Aged Care Pathways event in Canberra next month, which is to be held at the Hellenic Club Woden on Thursday 26th June 2025. Join us for another free community seminar with a unique panel of expert speakers to learn more about aged care – click here to secure your spot.

Explore our image gallery of the event below!