Skip to content Skip to navigation
MENU
COTA Victoria Logo
Login
Get Involved
Home CLOSE
MENU
  • About
    About
    CLOSE MENU
    • Management Team
    • Annual reports and financial statements
    • Board of Governance
    • Contact Us
    • Work with us
    • COTA Victoria Privacy Statement
  • News
    News
    CLOSE MENU
    • Latest News
    • COTA Connects
      • Sign-up for e-Newsletter
    • Media
      • Media Releases
    • COTA Conversations podcast
    • ONE COTA magazine
  • Events
  • Policy
    Policy
    CLOSE MENU
    • Our policy priorities
    • Policy positions
    • Assistive Technology for All
    • Elder Abuse | Seniors Rights Victoria
    • Submissions
    • Publications
  • Programs
    Programs
    CLOSE MENU
    • Seniors Rights Victoria
    • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
    • Care Finders
    • Carer Employment Support
      • Women Working Together
    • Living Longer Living Stronger
    • COTA Cycling
    • Victorian Seniors Festival 2023
    • Past Programs
  • Information
    Information
    CLOSE MENU
    • Looking for information?
    • COTA WISE services
    • How-to guides
    • Resources
    • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
  • Support us
    Support us
    CLOSE MENU
    • Become a member
    • Sign up for COTA Connects newsletter
    • Volunteer with us
    • Donations and Bequests
  • About
  • News
  • Events
  • Policy
  • Programs
  • Information
  • Support us
  • Login
About
  • Management Team
  • Annual reports and financial statements
  • Board of Governance
  • Contact Us
  • Work with us
  • COTA Victoria Privacy Statement
News
  • Latest News
  • COTA Connects
  • Media
  • COTA Conversations podcast
  • ONE COTA magazine
COTA Connects
  • Sign-up for e-Newsletter
Media
  • Media Releases
Policy
  • Our policy priorities
  • Policy positions
  • Assistive Technology for All
  • Elder Abuse | Seniors Rights Victoria
  • Submissions
  • Publications
Programs
  • Seniors Rights Victoria
  • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
  • Care Finders
  • Carer Employment Support
  • Living Longer Living Stronger
  • COTA Cycling
  • Victorian Seniors Festival 2023
  • Past Programs
Carer Employment Support
  • Women Working Together
Information
  • Looking for information?
  • COTA WISE services
  • How-to guides
  • Resources
  • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
Support us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for COTA Connects newsletter
  • Volunteer with us
  • Donations and Bequests

MEDIA RELEASE: New hotline for older Australians during COVID-19 pandemic launched

24 April 202003/05/2021
COVID-19, Health and Wellbeing, Mental Health

A new COVID-19 hotline will help older Australians get the critical information they need to stay healthy and safe during the pandemic, providing an accessible one-stop source for personal support, questions and up-to-date guidelines.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia, National Seniors Australia, Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) and Dementia Australia have banded together, supported by the Commonwealth Government, to create the National COVID Older Persons Information Line. Older people and carers are encouraged to call 1800 171 866 to speak to friendly, specially trained staff from a senior’s advocacy organisation.

OPAN CEO Craig Gear said the hotline will provide particular support to those accessing aged care services who are disproportionately impacted by health precautions and restrictions.

“People are scared and confused. Many are unsure what is safe what isn’t. The hotline is an important part of what will need to be a big community response. We need everyone checking in and supporting older people in aged care in particular because they are vulnerable to both the virus and social isolation,” said Mr Gear.

“Our message to older people is that there is no need to do this alone. There are services there if you need them. There are no stupid questions.”

COTA Chief Executive Ian Yates said older Australians often don’t have access to the internet and have understandable concerns and uncertainties about how to minimise their exposure while carrying out all their necessary activities.

“The government has very sensibly advised Australians over 70 to stay at home as much as possible. This means many people have questions about what they should or shouldn’t do or how they can get access to groceries, health care and other services. This hotline will provide the information they need and allow them to speak to an organisation they can trust about their concerns,” Mr Yates said.

National Seniors CEO Professor John McCallum said the service provides experienced and understanding call centre staff who will be a friendly and sympathetic voice at the other end of the line.

“It’s unrealistic to expect older Australians who are living alone and are told to stay home, not to suffer some sort of mental anguish, anxiety and uncertainty.

“This helpline is there to help them through what are challenging times for all of us, but especially our seniors. We’re all in this together,” Professor McCallum said.

Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said we encourage people living with dementia, their families and carers to call and they will be connected with our trained Dementia Australia advisors.

“We can offer strategies and support for families with concerns about a loved one in residential care. We can support carers of a loved one at home who might be struggling with isolation or changes in routine,” Ms McCabe said.

“And we are here for people living with dementia to talk through their own issues and come up with solutions to support them through this period of uncertainty.”

Media contact: Afsah Haque, 0410 860 435

COVID-19, helpline, social isolation

RELATED NEWS

COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria holiday closure 2023 preview image

COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria holiday closure 2023

4 December 2023
Read more
Read more
COTA Victoria & Seniors Rights Victoria CEO’s message, December 2023 preview image

COTA Victoria & Seniors Rights Victoria CEO’s message, December 2023

30 November 2023
Read more
Read more
Notice of Special General Meeting (SGM) preview image

Notice of Special General Meeting (SGM)

23 November 2023
Read more
Read more
SHARE THIS CONTENT:
COTA Victoria Logo
  • About
  • News
  • Events
  • Policy
  • Programs
  • Information
  • Support us
Seniors Rights Victoria Registered Charity
Follow on
Facebook
COTA FEDERATION
  • ACT
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
COTA Western Australia COTA Northern Territory COTA Queensland COTA New South Wales COTA ACT COTA Victoria COTA South Australia COTA Tasmania
Follow on
Twitter
GET INVOLVED
  • Seniors Rights Victoria
  • COTA Connects newsletter
  • Get Involved
  • COTA Insurance
  • Follow on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on LinkedIn
  • Follow on Instagram
  • Follow on Threads
  • Contact Us
Seniors Rights Victoria
TERMS PRIVACY CONTACT SITEMAP
© 2023 COTA Victoria ABN 81 960 500 420 WEB DESIGN CODE AND VISUAL
Back to top
All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to registrations, including Email. Any information collected by COTA Victoria is collected via correspondence from you or your organisation. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT