AMCS Newsletter- Quarter 3, 2024

Welcome by Maryanne Tadic, CEO 

As we rapidly approach the end of 2024, I have been reflecting on my time at AMCS since I commenced as CEO in June.  It has truly been a wonderful six months and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our incredible team that show such dedication and warmth to our clients.  The multicultural capacity of our organisation is something particularly special about AMCS that continues to surprise me every day.  It is a privilege working with staff who represent 49 countries and nearly 50 languages from across the globe and making culture central to what we do.

On behalf of myself and the Management Team, I wish you all a wonderful end of the year and Happy Christmas to all who celebrate. I also appreciate that the festive season can bring a range of mixed emotions, particularly when family and friends are far and wide, are no longer with us, or are in areas of the world that aren’t as safe as Australia.   We extend our thoughts to each one of you, and hope that 2025 brings joy.

On this page:

Millennium House Community Centre is Officially Open   

After years of planning and a $7million investment, the renovation of Millennium House Community Centre has been completed.  With a state-of-the-art building that provides a cultural hub featuring a wide variety of facilities, we were delighted to host an official opening event that was attended by over 100 supporters and friends of AMCS on 20th November.

After a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony delivered by Elder Perry Wandin, Maryanne Tadic, our CEO, began the proceedings by acknowledging the history of Millennium House and our sincere appreciation to the Polish Association of Kingsville and Ladies Auxiliary (PAKLA) for their generous donation of the building. We also gave thanks to the Victorian Government, Gandel Foundation, the Rotary Club of Footscray, Maribynong City Council and Nimbus for their generous financial support toward the significant investment that was made.

Ingrid Stitt MLC, (Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs), and Katie Hall MP, (Member for Footscray), joined together to unveil a plaque to commemorate the milestone event for Millennium House.

Multicultural entertainment was enjoyed by our guests including performances by the Melbourne Polish Youth & Childrens Choir, Sizwe – poet, and African drums.

We take this opportunity to invite you to visit our centre and have a tour of the building and facilities.  Many of our team members are now based at Millennium House and look forward to welcoming you.

We are also welcoming enquiries to the community who are interested in utilisng our centre such as the community hall (seating over 130 guests), full caterers kitchen, café for social enterprise groups, and meeting space options for smaller groups.

Art Against Ageism Competition –  Announcing our Winner, Runner-up & 10 finalists   

In its fourth year, popularity of our competition soared, and we were delighted to receive 631 entries – making decisions extremely difficult for our 5 judges!

The ethos behind our Art Against Ageism competition is to showcase the beauty, diverse capabilities, and vibrant mindset of senior individuals through art, ultimately negating the negative stereotypes associated with ageing.

We take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to enter, and to our sponsors and judges, who played a crucial role in making this year’s competition a success. This year, we sought sponsorship to provide our twelve winners with attractive prize money, and we were fortunate to have support from four esteemed organisations:

• Elder Rights Advocacy

• Merri Health

• Carers Victoria

• Language Loop

Winners and Finalists

Click here to view the entries and details of our winners, runner-up, and top ten finalists.

New AMCS Geelong Office 

As our clients grow in the Geelong area and we offer our range of community services within the area, we have established a new central base at Suite 8, 131 Ryrie St, Geelong.  Our phone and email details remain the same.

Connections for Wellbeing – our new multicultural program for 21 years & older  

Our recently launched Connections for Wellbeing Program provides support for individuals who face emotional challenges that prevent them from enjoying activities
or learning new skills.

The program also welcomes an individual carer, loved ones and family members – together, we work to create and achieve goals that will give confidence and make social connections.

With a leaning towards those with a multicultural background who are concerned about their emotional wellbeing, the goal is to engage them in activities and social interest groups that they enjoy but haven’t necessarily had the capacity to connect with on their own.

For further information, click here to view our full digital brochure. 

To make enquires, contact Nalika who welcomes enquiries from individuals, family and friends and also organisations who are interested in partnering with AMCS to provide community activities

Phone: 0403 158 359

Email: wellbeingcenters@amcservices.org.au

AMCS at Melbourne’s 20th Polish Festival  

With our organisation’s strong Polish history, we enjoyed having a stall at the recent Polish Festival in Federation Square.  Melbourne put on a spectacular day and over 30,000 visitors enjoyed Polish-related stalls, cultural entertainment and delicious food.

Polish is just one of the languages our team speaks and visitors to our stall enjoyed engaging and chatting in Polish about our Home Care Packages and community programs that we offer.

Carers Spring Gathering 

Over 150 carers came together for a fabulous afternoon of delicious food, great entertainment, and lots of opportunities to dance, sing and connect.

Hosted by AMCS and supported by Carers Victoria, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event which was provided free of charge.  It was an opportunity for the two organisations to acknowledge and show appreciation for the invaluable contributions that are made by carers.

New Aged Care Act  –  from 1 July 2025 

The Aged Care Bill 2024 has passed through parliament and will commence 1 July 2025.

AMCS have put together a project team to manage the transition for our both our existing and new clients.

Extracted from a Provider Communications Toolkit, supplied by the Department of Health and Aged Care, we provide a summary what is in the new Aged Care Act. Implementation of the new programs under the Act will take a staggered approach

The Act legislates a series of initiatives that will place high-quality, safe and compassionate care and services for older people at the centre of the system. This includes:

• a Statement of Rights for older people and a positive duty for providers to uphold those rights

• a single-entry point to the aged care system, with clear eligibility requirements and a fair, culturally safe assessment process

• the framework for delivery of a range of aged care services, including residential care and the new Support at Home program

• fair co-contributions from those who can afford to contribute to the cost of their aged care – to make sure the aged care system is sustainable into the future

• mechanisms for the government to fund aged care services, including aged care related grant programs

• a new approach to regulating aged care which will balance explicit incentives for continuous improvement and high-quality care – including through strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards – and stronger regulatory powers to protect people from harm

• a new, Ministerially appointed Complaints Commissioner and whistleblower protections to make sure that older people, workers and others have clear pathways to raise concerns about the quality of aged care services.

For further details, we recommend you view the Department of Health and Aged Care website – click here

Client Spotlight – Mrs Shirley Clark 

Mrs Clark is a devoted and talented crocheter, who spends countless hours creating delicate and beautiful crochet hats for newborn babies. Her voluntary work is more than just a hobby — it’s a heartfelt mission to welcome new lives into the world. For years, Mrs Clark has crocheted her beautiful pieces of art, all lovingly made by hand. She donates her creations to the Northern Hospital, ensuring that newborns, especially those in need, are wrapped in warmth and care.

Each piece she makes is crafted with love, and Mrs Clark’s dedication is a wonderful example of how a simple skill can be used to brighten the lives of others, one stitch at a time.

We take this opportunity to thank Joanna, Mrs Clark’s AMCS Care Advisor, who took the time to write this acknowledgement to her valued client.