What is culturally appropriate aged care? In short, it is aged care shaped around the person receiving it. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission says services should be tailored to each older person’s cultural, spiritual, religious and social needs.
For a Sydney family, that raises practical questions. Will a worker understand Mum’s language? Will they respect Dad’s faith and food? This guide sets out what the Aged Care Act 2024 and the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards say about culture and language. Then we turn those rules into questions you can put to any provider.
What is culturally appropriate aged care: quick summary
- Culturally appropriate aged care means services tailored to each older person’s cultural, spiritual, religious and social needs, based on the Commission’s guidance.
- Under the Statement of Rights in the Aged Care Act 2024, people have a right to have funded aged care services delivered in a culturally safe and culturally appropriate way.
- The same Statement gives a right to communicate in your preferred language or method, with access to interpreters and communication aids as required.
- The strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards started on 1 November 2025. Outcome 3.2 says providers must deliver funded services in a culturally safe and culturally appropriate way for people with specific needs and diverse backgrounds.
- Not every provider must meet every Standard. The Standards apply to registration categories 4 to 6, while the Statement of Rights also covers categories 1 to 3.
- These rules do not guarantee a worker who speaks your language. For example, the Standards ask providers to make “reasonable efforts” to involve the person in choosing workers.
- “Multicultural aged care” is a search term, not a category in the Act or the Standards, so it pays to ask specific questions.
What culturally appropriate aged care means in plain English
The Aged Care Act 2024 uses the phrase “culturally appropriate”, but its definitions do not explain it. The Standards also use it without a definition. So for a plain description, the best places to look are the Commission’s guidance and the My Aged Care website.
Read together, those official pages show what culturally appropriate aged care looks like day to day:
- Language: workers who speak the person’s language, or an interpreting service.
- Faith and custom: help to follow religious or cultural requirements, especially around food, spiritual beliefs and personal care.
- Food: cultural dietary or food preferences written into the care and services plan.
- Personal care: choice about how and when intimate care happens, and a say in the gender of the worker.
- Family and community: support to stay in touch with family and friends, and to keep a connection to culture and community.
- Privacy: respect for a person’s choice about what is shared, including with family members.
Culturally appropriate and culturally safe: is there a difference?
The Act usually puts the two terms side by side, and neither the Act nor the Standards defines either one. However, the Commission’s guidance adds some detail on culturally safe care. It says culturally safe, trauma aware and healing informed care “goes beyond respecting older people’s backgrounds”. Providers should actively recognise and respond to a person’s past, so that care does not re-traumatise them.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing also says cultural safety “is measured by how policies, processes and practices align with the lived experience of older people”. In other words, a line on a brochure is not enough. What counts is how care feels to the person receiving it.
Multicultural aged care in Sydney: what the term does and does not mean
People search for multicultural aged care or multicultural aged care services. Yet neither the Act nor the Standards uses the word “multicultural”. Instead, the term simply describes what a family is looking for, so two providers can mean quite different things by it.
Culturally appropriate aged care matters in a city as diverse as Sydney. In the 2021 Census, 42.0% of Greater Sydney households used a non-English language. The most common languages other than English were Mandarin (5.0% of people), Arabic (4.2%), Cantonese (2.8%), Vietnamese (2.2%) and Hindi (1.5%). Those figures cover all ages, not only older people.
Nationally, the department notes that in 2016 over a third of people aged 65 and over were born overseas. That same year, nearly 20% of older Australians spoke a language other than English at home.
What the Statement of Rights says about culture and language
The Statement of Rights is section 23 of the Aged Care Act 2024. Under section 24, a person is entitled to these rights when accessing, or seeking to access, funded aged care services. Several of them bear directly on culturally appropriate aged care:
| Section | The right | What it means for a family |
|---|---|---|
| 23(1) | To exercise choice about how, when and by whom services are delivered | You can say who you would prefer and why |
| 23(2) | To have care needs assessed in a culturally safe, culturally appropriate manner | This covers the assessment as well as the care |
| 23(3) | To have identity, culture, spirituality and diversity valued and supported, and services delivered in a culturally safe, culturally appropriate way | This is the core right for culturally appropriate aged care |
| 23(7) | To be informed in a way the person understands | Information has to reach the older person, not only the family |
| 23(8) | To communicate in the preferred language or method, with access to interpreters and communication aids as required | You can ask how an interpreter would be arranged |
| 23(9) | To complain without fear of reprisal, and have complaints dealt with fairly and promptly | Raising a concern should not affect care |
| 23(10) | To be supported by an advocate or another person of their choice | A relative or an advocate can be part of the conversation |
| 23(12) | To stay connected to community, including cultural and spiritual activities | Connection to culture is named in the Act |
How strong are these rights?
However, it helps to know the limits. Section 24 says Parliament intends registered providers delivering funded aged care services to “take all reasonable and proportionate steps” to act compatibly with these rights. Those steps can also take account of other people’s rights and other laws. Further, section 24 says the Division creates no rights or duties enforceable in a court or tribunal.
Even so, the rights have practical force. Acting compatibly with the Statement is a condition of registration for certain registered providers. In addition, a person can complain to the Complaints Commissioner about a registered provider acting in a way that is incompatible with it.
What the strengthened Quality Standards say about culturally appropriate aged care
The strengthened Standards took effect on 1 November 2025, and the Commission says they have a greater focus on diversity. Each Standard has outcomes and actions. Outcomes describe what providers are assessed against, and the Aged Care Rules 2025 make the outcome statements legal obligations. By contrast, actions describe what providers can do to meet an outcome.
Where culture and language appear in the Standards
| Where | What it says | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome 1.1 | The provider understands and values individuals, including their identity, culture, ability, diversity, beliefs and life experiences | Culture is part of person-centred care |
| Action 1.1.2 | Identify background, culture and beliefs in assessment and planning, and use this to direct how services are delivered; understand communication needs and preferences | It should show up in the care plan |
| Action 1.2.1 | A system to recognise, prevent and respond to violence, abuse, racism, neglect, exploitation and discrimination | Racism is named directly |
| Action 1.3.1 | Information is plainly expressed and presented in a way the individual understands | This supports informed decisions |
| Action 2.6.3 (Outcome 2.6b) | People are empowered to access advocates, language services and other ways of raising complaints | A complaint should be possible in your own language |
| Action 2.9.6 | All workers regularly receive competency-based training on culturally safe, trauma-aware and healing-informed care | Training is listed as a core matter |
| Outcome 3.2 | Services are delivered in a way that is culturally safe and culturally appropriate for individuals with specific needs and diverse backgrounds | This is the most direct requirement |
| Action 3.2.8 | Reasonable efforts to involve the person in selecting workers, including the gender of, and language spoken by, workers, and to maximise continuity | A real say, though not a guarantee |
| Action 3.1.6 and Action 5.7.3 | Advance care planning takes in beliefs, cultural and religious practices and traditions; palliative care supports spiritual and cultural needs | Culture still matters late in life |
Which providers must meet which Standards
Duties around culturally appropriate aged care are not the same for every provider. Registered providers sit in registration categories from 1 to 6, based on the services they deliver. The Commission sets out what each group must meet:
| Category | Examples from the Commission | What the provider must meet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home and community services, such as domestic assistance, meals and transport | Statement of Rights and Code of Conduct. The Standards do not apply. |
| 2 | Assistive technology and home modifications | Statement of Rights and Code of Conduct. The Standards do not apply. |
| 3 | Advisory and support services, such as social support and community engagement | Statement of Rights and Code of Conduct. The Standards do not apply. |
| 4 | Personal care or care support in the home or community, such as personal care, allied health and therapy | Standards 1 to 4 (and Outcome 5.1 for care management and restorative care management), the Statement of Rights and the Code of Conduct |
| 5 | Nursing care and assistance with transition care | Standards 1 to 5, the Statement of Rights and the Code of Conduct |
| 6 | Residential care | Standards 1 to 7, the Statement of Rights and the Code of Conduct |
Remember that these rules on culturally appropriate aged care describe the national system for funded services delivered by registered providers. If a service sits outside that system, these sections may not apply to it. Therefore, get anything that matters to your family in writing.
Culturally appropriate aged care: questions to ask a provider
These questions test whether culturally appropriate aged care is more than a promise. They come from the rules above, from My Aged Care and from the department’s cultural safety review tool for providers. That tool is guidance rather than law, but it shows what good practice looks like. You can also take someone you trust to these conversations. Overall, a strong answer names a process, says who is responsible, and explains what happens when a regular worker is away.
Language and interpreters
- Are workers who speak my parent’s language available on each visit or shift? My Aged Care suggests asking this, and it is worth asking about your suburb and times too.
- If not, how do you arrange an interpreter, and who makes the booking? This tests the right in section 23(8).
- Do you expect our family to interpret? The department advises providers to always prioritise professional interpreters for high-risk decisions.
- Can you translate the service agreement and handbook? Action 1.4.2 expects providers to support people to understand their agreement, rights, services and fees.
Choosing the worker
- Can my parent have a say in the gender and language of their worker? Action 3.2.8 covers both.
- What happens when that worker is away? The same action asks providers to maximise worker continuity.
Culture, faith, food and routines
- How will my parent’s culture, faith and routines get into the care plan? The department suggests an “ask, record, honour, review” approach.
- How do new workers find out about those preferences? The department’s tool asks providers whether handover templates include cultural considerations.
- How will you support religious or cultural requirements around food, spiritual beliefs or personal care? This is a question My Aged Care suggests.
- If meals are included, can they suit cultural or religious requirements? Commission guidance gives cultural dietary preferences as an example of what to document in the plan.
- How will you support my parent’s connection to their community and to family? Section 23(12) covers this connection.
Training, safety and privacy
- What cultural safety training do workers receive, and how often? My Aged Care says to check for refresher training that is updated regularly.
- What happens if a worker or another client treats my parent in a racist way? Action 1.2.1 expects a system to respond.
- If my parent wants their cultural identity kept private, will you respect that? My Aged Care suggests asking about the privacy policy and who information can be shared with.
When something goes wrong
- How can my parent raise a complaint in their own language? Action 2.6.3 under Outcome 2.6b names language services.
- Who else can be involved in that conversation? Section 23(10) gives a right to be supported by an advocate or another chosen person.
Interpreters and translated information for aged care
Language is central to culturally appropriate aged care, so it helps to know what is available. Several of these services are free. My Aged Care says TIS National offers free interpreting services to you, your family and loved ones.
To reach My Aged Care through an interpreter, for the cost of a local call:
- Call TIS National on 131 450.
- Tell the operator the language you speak.
- Ask the interpreter to call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.
If you want to speak to the Commission, call 1800 951 822 and ask it to arrange an interpreter. You can also ask TIS National or the Aboriginal Interpreter Service (1800 334 944) to call the Commission for you. For an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language, My Aged Care says to call 1800 200 422 and ask for an interpreter from its list of languages.
Written information is available as well. My Aged Care has translated resources in 21 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese. However, it says these are for reference only. In addition, an aged care translation service can translate handbooks, service agreements and brochures. According to the department, it is free for government-funded aged care providers.
When family members interpret
A family member may well step in to interpret. However, the department’s tool advises providers that where family members act as informal interpreters, they should confirm accuracy. It also says to “always prioritise professional interpreters for high-risk decisions”. So for an agreement, a consent decision or a change in care, it is reasonable to ask for a professional interpreter.
How to find multicultural aged care services in Sydney
This section describes the national aged care system, not a Centre of Hope offer. To look for culturally appropriate aged care through that system, My Aged Care sets out these routes:
- Start with an assessment if you are seeking government-funded care. My Aged Care says the first step is to apply for an assessment. If you book a face-to-face appointment on 1800 227 475 and want to talk in your own language, mention it when you book.
- Use the filters on the Find a provider tool. My Aged Care’s provider pages explain how to search and compare providers. Filters cover faith and language options, and specialised care.
- Check whether a claim is verified. Under Specialisation Verification, the department checks a provider’s claim of specialised care against a framework. Other inclusive services, such as delivering care in a language or catering to a cultural or spiritual group, are self-reported by providers.
- Ask people you trust. My Aged Care suggests asking people you know, community centres, and faith and cultural groups for recommendations.
- Get free help if the system feels complicated. Care finders give face-to-face support to vulnerable older people with complex needs. In addition, Aged Care Specialist Officers at Services Australia can give more detailed information.
The government also funds Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care organisations in each state and territory. They support aged care providers to deliver culturally appropriate care, and help older people and their families make informed decisions. For that help, the department points people to My Aged Care’s page on culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families
For older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally appropriate aged care has its own wording in the rules. Section 23(12) of the Act includes a right to stay connected with community, Country and Island Home. Also, under Action 1.1.2, providers ask and record whether a person identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.
My Aged Care says Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people with care needs can access government-funded aged care services from age 50. It has a dedicated page, and its assessment page explains the Elder Care Support program, which can help you choose a culturally safe provider. Also, with your consent, an Elder Care support worker can attend your assessment. Looking ahead, Parliament has legislated an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner, with those provisions starting on 1 July 2027.
What to do if aged care is not culturally appropriate
The Commission says talking to the provider is often the easiest and quickest way to resolve a concern. It also says a provider, worker or responsible person cannot punish you or treat you differently for raising one. If that does not work, or you are not comfortable doing it, you have other options:
- The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission: call 1800 951 822 or read how to raise a concern.
- The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN): call 1800 700 600. The Commission describes OPAN as offering free, independent and confidential support to people receiving Australian Government-funded aged care. The Commission says OPAN can get an interpreter for you when you call.
Finally, My Aged Care says you have the right to stop services at any time.
How to check culturally appropriate aged care rules yourself
Rules and page wording change, so go to the source before you rely on a detail. Each of these takes a few minutes:
- Read sections 23 and 24 of the Aged Care Act 2024 on the Federal Register of Legislation. Check the compilation date at the top.
- Read the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, especially Standard 1 and Outcome 3.2. The Commission also has guidance on Outcome 3.2 and guidance on Outcome 1.1.
- Read the Commission’s plain-language pages on the Statement of Rights and the Quality Standards. The second page lists the registration categories.
- Read My Aged Care’s page on support for people from diverse backgrounds, which has its own suggested questions, and its page on accessible contact options.
- Read the department’s cultural safety review tool and its page on translating and interpreting services.
- For interpreters, go to TIS National or the Commission’s translation services page.
- For the Sydney figures, see the ABS 2021 Census QuickStats for Greater Sydney.
Frequently asked questions
What is culturally appropriate aged care?
It is aged care tailored to a person’s cultural, spiritual, religious and social needs. The Aged Care Act 2024 gives people a right to have funded aged care services delivered in a culturally safe and culturally appropriate way, although it does not define the term.
What is multicultural aged care?
It is a common search term for culturally appropriate aged care that suits people from many cultures and language groups. It is not a term used in the Act or the Standards. Some providers tailor services to specific groups, so ask what a provider means by it, and check whether any claim is verified.
Do aged care providers have to provide an interpreter?
The Statement of Rights gives a right to communicate in your preferred language or method, with access to interpreters as required. Parliament intends registered providers of funded services to take all reasonable and proportionate steps to act compatibly with that right. Commission guidance also says access to interpreters and translators can help older people engage in decisions.
Is an interpreter free?
My Aged Care says TIS National offers free interpreting services to you, your family and loved ones. You can also reach My Aged Care through TIS National on 131 450 for the cost of a local call.
Can we ask for a worker who speaks my parent’s language?
Yes. Action 3.2.8 of the Standards asks providers to make reasonable efforts to involve the person in selecting workers, including the language they speak. However, that is not a guarantee, so ask what happens when no such worker is available.
Can my parent choose a male or female carer?
They can ask. The same action includes the gender of workers, and Action 1.2.4 says people have choice about how and when they receive intimate personal care. That is not a guarantee either, so raise it early.
Do the rules on culturally appropriate aged care apply to every provider?
No. The Statement of Rights and the Code of Conduct cover registered providers delivering funded aged care services. The Standards apply only to providers in categories 4 to 6, and Standards 6 and 7 apply only to residential care homes.
What if the care does not respect my parent’s culture?
First, talk to the provider if you feel comfortable. You can also contact the Commission on 1800 951 822 or OPAN on 1800 700 600. Both can arrange an interpreter.
Is culturally appropriate aged care only for people born overseas?
No. The Standards list many groups, including Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander persons, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people of various religions. They also say a person’s diversity does not define who they are, but it is critical that providers recognise and embrace it.
How do I find multicultural aged care services in Sydney?
Use the Find a provider tool on My Aged Care and filter for faith, language and specialised care. Then ask community centres and faith or cultural groups, and put the questions in this guide to each provider you shortlist.
How Centre of Hope can help
Centre of Hope provides culturally responsive aged care across Sydney, and we welcome people from all cultural and language backgrounds. We respect culture, beliefs, language, food preferences, family relationships and individual routines. We also support connection with family, cultural communities and social networks. You have a say in who supports you, and we consider your preferences when matching a support worker where reasonably possible, subject to worker availability.
This guide explains the national aged care system. It is not a description of how Centre of Hope’s services are arranged. Our aged care price list is being finalised, and we will always talk you through the costs of your agreed services before support starts.
If one of the options we discuss is one of our own services, we tell you plainly. We also talk through the alternatives and leave the decision with you. To talk it through, call us on 0432 250 900 or contact our team.
Related reading
- All aged care services at Centre of Hope
- Care coordination: organising services and keeping everyone connected
- Personal care and daily living: showering, dressing and daily routines
- NDIS and aged care after 65: who stays on the NDIS, who moves, and how to choose
- Free transport for elderly to appointments in NSW: every option, and when paid help fits
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not replace personal advice about your situation. Information is current as at 4 November 2026. It reflects the Aged Care Act 2024 (compilation of 1 July 2026), the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (November 2025), the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, My Aged Care and Department of Health, Disability and Ageing pages linked in this article, and the ABS 2021 Census. It describes the national aged care system and is not a statement about how any particular provider is funded or registered. The questions are suggestions, are illustrative and are not an entitlement: what applies depends on the service and the provider. Rules and programmes change, so always confirm the current position with My Aged Care or the Commission before you rely on it.