Like many local government authorities, the City of Melville has a significant aged and ageing population, with 25,800 people over the age of fifty-five out of a total population of one hundred thousand.

This represents over 23% of our population and by 2010, around 34% of our population will be over 55. Residents over the age of 65 currently represent 14.5% of our population, which is 3.5% higher than the Western Australian average. Residents from Chinese, Italian, and South Asian backgrounds make up our largest groups of seniors from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, which represent approximately 17.5% of our current seniors’ population. We know that these groups will also continue to increase in size.

The Council has demonstrated its commitment to responding to the aged and growing older population since 1993 and has actively researched seniors’ issues since this time. Making our City 'Age-friendly' is one of the most effective policy approaches to respond to an ageing population. An 'Age-friendly City':

• promotes 'active ageing';
• helps prevent and correct the barriers that people encounter as they grow older; and
• ensures policies, services and structures related to the physical and social environment are designed to support and enable older people to age actively – to live in security, enjoy good health and participate fully in their communities.

To achieve these outcomes the City of Melville has developed its own programs, facilitated delivery of relevant programs by other providers, advocated for changes, developed partnership opportunities to improve the quality of life of our seniors, and participated in relevant research.

Specific programs that have been developed include the Seniors Assistance Fund, which is a pool of funding ($75,000) provided annually by the City of Melville to deliver direct service provision via a brokerage model to seniors that fall through the gaps of other funding programmes. The programme is person-centred, flexible and responsive to seniors’ needs.

The Seniors Assistance Fund also features a grants programme ($25,000) that makes funds available to support innovative, sustainable responses to identified seniors issues. This programme was recently recognised by the WA State Government Seniors Week Award for 'Active Ageing Leadership'.

Other City of Melville initiatives in this area include:

• the delivery of culturally specific Home and Community Care services to our Chinese, Italian, South Asian, and Indigenous residents;
• the facilitation of a regular network of aged care service providers in the City;
• specific programmes at our Recreation Centres, Libraries and Community Centres that target seniors; and
• a Community Development Officer (Seniors) that works proactively within the framework of an asset based Community Development model to further relevant project development and promote seniors interests.

Last year the City partnered with the Western Australian Government through the Office for Seniors Interests and Volunteering, to conduct research as part of the World Health Organisation’s 'Age-friendly Cities Index Project'.We were one of only two cities in Australia to participate in this exciting project.

The project has two main objectives:

• to identify indicators of an ‘age- friendly’ city and produce a practical guide to stimulate and guide advocacy, community development and policy change to make urban communities 'Age-friendly'; and
• for participating cities to increase awareness of local needs, gaps and good ideas for improvement in order to stimulate development of more age-friendly urban communities.

The City of Melville is looking forward to the findings of this research and the determination of ‘Age-friendly’ Indicators that can guide a response to our ageing population, and guide the development of our own Positive Ageing Strategy.