Abbeyfield Australia
 The Abbeyfield Society (Australia) is a charity run by volunteers, set up after Mrs Judy Dunster introduced the Abbeyfield concept to Australia in the early 1980s.
In 1986 the first Australian Abbeyfield house was opened in Malvern, Victoria. This pilot project was an adaptation of two existing houses and set the pattern in Australia by providing private bed-sitter accommodation plus en-suite bathroom facilities for ten older people. Capital funding was provided by the Commonwealth government with matching grants from other sources.
Since then three hostels (equivalent to care homes in the UK) and a further 25 supportive (supported sheltered) homes have been built across Australia. Most are purpose built.
In 2002, Australia jointly hosted (with Abbeyfield New Zealand) the Abbeyfield International Convention, which provided a forum for mutual support, encouragement and inspiration for representatives from national Abbeyfield societies.
There is a trend in Australia towards joint ventures with government, which place difficult demands on the communities Abbeyfield Australia usually serves. Many of the groups seeking to find ways to look after their older members are among the less well off ethnic communities. Often there are very few resources available to them and the capacity to make a contribution to a project is extremely limited. This reduces the opportunities for development and means that expansion of the Abbeyfield supportive house model at this stage is slow. However an exciting new type of house in the Australian Capital Territory has just opened. This is a pilot project for people younger than our normal client group who have mild intellectual disabilities. It is hoped that the opportunity for supported independent living provided by the Abbeyfield model will prove ideal for this group, and that other such houses may follow.
For further information contact:
Ms Jan Giles
The Abbeyfield Society (Australia) Ltd.
Suite 2
250 Gore Street
Fitzroy
Victoria 3065
Australia
Tel: (61) 3 9419 8222 Fax: (61) 3 9419 8575
e-mail: admin@abbeyfield.org.au
website: www.abbeyfield.org.au
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