Rainbow Care Cards

The Rainbow Care Card (RCC) project provides a safe way for older LGBTIQ+ Victorians to give constructive feedback to health and aged care services about their experience of LGBTIQ+ inclusivity. Our aim is to promote the health and wellbeing of older LGBTIQ+ Victorians by helping to ensure the services they access are LGBTIQ+ inclusive. To achieve this, we need to break the cycle of invisibility ie:
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  • ​some service providers believe LGBTIQ+ inclusivity isn't a priority because they don't see any older LGBTIQ+ clients - without messages of LGBTIQ+ inclusivity, some older LGBTIQ+ people hide their LGBTIQ+ness when accessing services.

​LGBTIQ+ inclusive services are critical to ageing in place - or - to older LGBTIQ+ people bringing their authentic selves (disclosing all their needs) to service providers. To participate, click here

For LGBTIQ+ community

There are a number of different ways to participate. For more information, click here 
  • Intergenerational gatherings: join one of our intergen gatherings hosted in rural Victoria 
  • Younger LGBTIQ+ people: reach out to an older LGBTIQ+ person you know and fill out a card with them
  • Older LGBTIQ+ people: phone the project coordiator to share your experience.

For service providers

If you are a service provider who has received a Rainbow Care Card, you can reply to the older LGBTIQ+ person by phoning or emailing the Project Coordinator, see details below. If you are interested in more information about LGBTIQ+ inclusive services, check the following links:
  • Rainbow Tick, click here 
  • Rainbow Ready Road Map, click here 

Gallery

The Rainbow Card Cards below are de-identified summaries of the cards sent to services. They are shared here to raise the visibility of older LGBTIQ+ people and emphasise the importance of LGBTIQ+ inclusive services. 

360-degree feedback 

Our first response to a Rainbow Care Card was from Ambulance Victoria (bottom right). We are heartened by their response and have permission to share it. The older LGBTIQ+ Victorian who wrote the Rainbow said of their response:  'these people are amazing, they will give a lot of people hope.'

Complaints about services  

Rainbow Care Cards focus on constructive or encouraging feedback. If an older LGBTIQ+ person has experienced discrimination in services and would like to make a complaint, please contact the relevant commission (examples below) - or contact us for more information:
  • Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, here
  • Elder Rights Advocacy Victoria, here
  • Mental Health Complaints Commission, here
  • Health Complaints Commission, here

More information 

The Rainbow Care Card is an initiative of the Centre for Intergenerational Power, part of Celebrate Ageing Ltd and has been funded by the Victoria State Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Equality Portfolio. For more information contact the Project Coordinator, Dr Catherine Barrett by