Compiled by a team of dedicated professionals, KeepAble is an online collaborative hub for practical content that supports home and community care providers to deliver wellness and reablement approaches.
These insights and ideas aim to assist providers to work with and empower older people to optimise their independence and live life well for longer.
We have also been recognised by ACSA gaining two nominations for their Aged Care Awards 2021 celebrating outstanding achievements and contributions made by organisations, teams, and individuals in the aged care industry throughout the year.
Play the video animation above to find out more about KeepAble.
Working together to bring wellness and reablement to life
According to research, the key to ageing well and living a good quality of life for longer is to compress functional decline by living more healthy years rather than just living longer. This can be achieved by:
- moving regularly – through everyday activities and exercise
- staying socially connected
- maintaining a balanced diet, and
- having a sense of purpose.
KeepAble aims to do what the name suggests. We’re dedicated to finding and sharing evidence-based research, resources and real-life stories about ageing well, so older people can live well for longer.
Here, you’ll find content that helps deliver wellness and reablement in actionable steps, coupled with Australian Government materials such as the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) Manual and the Living Well At Home: CHSP Good Practice Guide.


Let’s collaborate
Let us know how you’re using the resources and what else you’d like to see, so we can make sure KeepAble works for you.
Fill in the ‘Count Me In form‘ to stay in the loop and join our community of contributors.


If you would like to become more involved in shaping KeepAble content, why not register with KeepAble to receive more news, resources and updates as they are developed.
Resources for Homecare Providers
- Where are you on Wellness and Reablement delivery?The maturity of Wellness and Reablement approaches varies between providers. Consumers, assessors, and providers are all at different stages of their journey. See what our guide says about the actions at each level.
- Preparing your annual wellness and reablement reportCompiling your annual wellness and reablement report requires preparation and ensuring you have collected the right data.
- It’s time to get serious about goal settingFor those accessing aged care supports, setting goals and planning towards achieving them provides the person a voice, making them and what they wish to achieve the focal point of the support being provided.
- Rethinking Group Social SupportMany of the individuals who join group social activities within CHSP social centres have previously created and belonged to a ‘social life‘ of their choice which may have been comprised of a social network of one other person or have been a network of many.
- Group Social Support – It starts with a conversationInitial conversations undertaken with clients need to explore how they previously socialised, what prevents them from returning to previous activities, how long has it been, and how do they envisage their social network to look in the future.
- Guide to writing support plansA support plan provides guidance to clients and support staff so they can work together to achieve the clients’ goals.
- Assistive Technology Essentials (Part one)The aim of this guide is to build awareness and knowledge amongst Commonwealth Home Support Programme
(CHSP) service providers and the broader aged care sector of the benefits of Assistive Technology (AT) and the role it plays as part of a wellness and reablement service delivery approach with improved outcomes for older people. - Assistive Technology Essentials (Part two)Assistive Technology Essentials Part 2 is a guide for consumers, families, practitioners and the home support sector who support them. Based on the best available evidence and extensive practice knowledge, this resource is a valuable knowledge translation tool in the rapidly evolving landscape of assistive technology.
- KeepAble resources to downloadThis page provides links to all our resources for download on one page. We do suggest reading the supporting articles however to gain a true understanding of the accompanying resource.
- Support workers guide to equipment (Assistive Technology)Learn how low-level assistive technology can help maximise independence, especially for home care clients.
- Measuring client outcomesAt the very core of embedding a culture of wellness and reablement is a shift for organisations in how they measure success.
- Essential steps for successful coachingWe review some steps so you can provide an effective coaching session to support workers within your organisation.
- Making choices, finding solutionsThis guide has been developed so people can make informed decisions when choosing assistive technology and home modification solutions.
Personal perspectives
- Getting back to beforePhil had a fall at home. As a result, he became concerned about getting back to his usual routine and reconnecting with others. His GP made a referral through My Aged Care so Phil could get back on his feet. Read this story of empowerment from Phil’s perspective.
- Small things can make a big differenceAn Aged Care Assessor went through some of the everyday activities that Claire and her husband were managing in their home, such as showering and dressing. During this process, Claire and her husband realised there were simple things they could use to make their lives easier.
- Getting out and about to reconnectAfter Stan stopped driving, he decided it was time to get some help so he could reconnect with his family and friends. Read about how Stan uses a mobile app and public transport to stay connected.
Latest news about ageing
- Ageing is not the problem. How we deal with it isPru Goward is a former sex discrimination commissioner and NSW Liberal Minister. She is a professor at Western Sydney University and a director with Taylor Fry, Data Analysts and Actuaries. In September 2020, she wrote this opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.
- Muscle loss can cause a range of health problems as we age – but it can be preventedSurprisingly, you can lose up to 40% of your muscle mass between your 20s and your 80s.
- Ageing at home: too little choice for older AustraliansA discussion paper by the National Ageing Research Institute said the aged care system assumed older Australians either had secure and appropriate housing or lived in residential aged care.


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General FAQ for KeepAble
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.
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.