Barbara Leon: “Excitement, overwhelm and resilience”
5 minute read
We spoke with Barbara Leon, Operations Manager at UNITED – Spanish Latin American Welfare Centre, about how her team is preparing for Support at Home, what they’re learning along the way, and how strong planning and collaboration are helping them adapt to change.
Q: What steps is your organisation taking to prepare for Support at Home?
We’re working through our Support at Home Action Plan, which aligns with the priority actions identified for providers.
We’ve established a Clinical Governance Subcommittee, and through that, developed a robust Clinical Governance Framework to guide our service delivery. We also undertook a strategic review of our workplace health and safety policies and procedures. These are now being disseminated to our workforce and we’ll continue that rollout over the coming months.
We’re also planning culturally sensitive policies around end-of-life care, restorative care pathways, palliative care, and supporting CALD communities with advance care planning.
On the workforce side, we’ve developed a Strategic Workforce Plan that includes:
A recruitment strategy focused on supporting international students from Spanish-speaking countries to enter aged care, with a pathway to validate their professional qualifications in Australia
Offering placements for students studying aged care and community services.
Communication has been a focus. We’ve developed a Communications Strategy that includes team briefings, regular client updates since late 2023, and translated materials about the reforms.
We’ve upskilled staff on the Code of Conduct and SIRS, and next we’ll be focusing on the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and the Support at Home service design. We’ve already reached out to the Department for the materials we need to upload to our E-learning platform.
Last year, we implemented new HR software that’s streamlined recruitment, and we’ve secured an IT support grant from the Department. That funding will support our training and software implementation under Support at Home.
Q: What’s been the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge has definitely been time. There’s so much to do to be Support at Home–ready, and the pace of change is fast. That uncertainty has created some pressure, but it’s also highlighted our team’s strengths.
We’ve adapted and pivoted when we’ve needed to. Our resilience comes from a shared commitment to our clients’ wellbeing – it’s what drives us to do our best every day.
Q: What positive changes do you expect to see from the new reforms?
One of the most important shifts is the stronger focus on people’s rights – particularly the right to have their identity, dignity, wishes and preferences respected. While this isn’t a new idea, having it embedded in legislation reinforces it.
We hope it empowers older people to speak up and engage in honest, open conversations with their provider.
Q: How has collaboration helped you prepare?
The SSD Connect Alliance has helped us stay ahead of the curve. We’ve accessed their excellent training on the Aged Care Act and Clinical Governance. These sessions have helped us plan, build systems, and stay focused. We’re grateful for the expertise and support.
We’ve also recently partnered with the SSD Connect Alliance to create a Sensitive Conversations Toolkit. The toolkit will support early identification of risk, deterioration or elder abuse – and ensure disclosures are handled appropriately.
Our team is already compassionate and caring. These tools will give them even more confidence to deliver person-centred, trauma-aware care.
Q: How is your team feeling about the changes?
It’s been a mix – excitement, overwhelm, uncertainty and resilience.
The pace of change is intense, but I can see the team is looking forward to greater transparency and accountability under a new system. Moving to a billable hours model will be a big shift, but it’s also an opportunity to improve how we work and strengthen the quality of care.
Thank you Barbara for sharing your experiences and insights.
This interview is part of our series: Preparing for the Reforms: Challenges, Wins & What’s Next, featuring aged care leaders sharing how they’re navigating change, what they’ve learned, and what’s next. Stay tuned for new interviews.