Wellness is an approach that builds on the strengths, capacity, and goals of individuals and encourages actions that promote a level of independence in daily living tasks, as well as reducing risks to living safely at home. ​ It is ‘doing with’ people ‘not doing for’ them.

Reablement involves time-limited interventions that are targeted towards a person’s specific goal or desired outcome to adapt to some functional loss or regain confidence and capacity to resume activities.

Wellness and Reablement are closely aligned as the same principles apply to both but Reablement is time-limited, focused support with the aim to get a person back to doing everyday tasks themselves.

Service providers are required to work with older people to maximise their independence and enable them to remain living safely in their home and the community. This means that services should generally not undertake tasks that the client can do safely themselves. The longer the client avoids reliance on ongoing services, the longer they are likely to maintain their functional independence.

The approach known as Wellness and Reablement builds on people’s strengths and goals to promote greater independence and autonomy. Offering care that focuses on individual client goals and recognises the importance of client participation is fundamental to the Commonwealth Home Support Program.

Traditional models of service delivery that focus on what a client can’t do, rather than what they can, tend to lead to an over-reliance on services by clients, which has been linked with accelerated functional decline and an increase in dependence on support.

Research suggests that people living with dementia can maintain their functional ability for longer, improve aspects of their day-to-day lives, or reduce the rate of decline in their ability, through specific approaches that are consistent with the term ‘reablement’. A focus on improving or maintaining functional ability may also lead to other beneficial outcomes, such as improved quality of life and independence, or the ability to remain living at home for longer.

Yes, the Wellness and Reablement approach applies to people from all cultural backgrounds. It is important that the information they receive is culturally appropriate and understood by the individual. There should be opportunities provided to those individuals to build their capacity and be as independent as possible in their daily activities.