Strong, liveable communities: Tasmania's Active Ageing Plan 2017-2022

Strong, liveable communities: Tasmania’s Active Ageing Plan 2017-2022 (the Active Ageing Plan) is the Tasmanian Government’s commitment to support people to maintain their health, increase their participation, continue to learn, and feel secure as they age. It is a comprehensive plan, informed by the voices of older Tasmanians, to support individuals to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing, education, participation, and security.

Active ageing is about more than being physically active. It is also about continuing to belong, be involved, learn and have purpose as we age. As active participants in the workforce, volunteers, carers, parents and grandparents, older Tasmania’s contribute significantly to Tasmania’s future.

The Tasmanian Government has committed to undertake six new projects with the support of the Council on the Ageing Tasmania (COTA), that reflect the issues raised in the community consultation for the plan. The Projects are:

• Toolkits for Local Liveable Communities;
• Digital Inclusion for Older Tasmanians;
• Utilising Tasmania’s Ageing Workforce;
• Building Business for Tasmanian Communities;
• Active Recreation for Older Tasmanians; and
• Good Neighbour Volunteering Program.

The Plan is accompanied by an Implementation Strategy, which allows the Tasmanian Government to target and refine its actions based on what does and doesn’t work. This includes listening to and learning from older people, and exploring solutions to long-standing systemic barriers to living a good life as we grow older.

Open the Plan:

• Tasmania’s Active Ageing Plan 2017-2022 (the Active Ageing Plan) (PDF, 3.61MB)

Open the Implementation Strategy:

• Strong Liveable Communities Implementation Strategy 2019-2020 (PDF, 3.72KB)

Open the Progress Report:

• Strong Liveable Communities Progress Report July 2017- December 2018 (PDF, 1.32MB)

The Strategic Directions and Background Paper

The Strategic Direction and Background Paper is the culmination of consultation with almost 650 Tasmanians aged 50 and over.

Key findings from the Paper show that:

• the majority of older Tasmanians are satisfied with their experience of growing older in Tasmania;
• older Tasmanians recognise that Tasmania’s environment, lifestyle and sense of community help them to age well;
• challenges such as the cost of living, staying healthy and lack of transport, impact on the ability of older people to age well;
• ageism - prejudice or discrimination because of their age – is still felt by many older people.

The Strategic Directions and Background Paper is available on the COTA website.

Photo: Canoeing, Lake St Clair, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.  Courtesy Parks and Wildlife Service. Photographer Joe Shemesh.