About Us
Doutta Galla Aged Care Services is a community based not-for-profit, independent organisation serving Melbourne’s West and regional Victoria since 1991. We are a non-denominational organisation with charitable status, and committed to provide accessible, affordable and quality care, regardless of religious, socioeconomic and ethnic background.
We aim to provide access to aged care services which are affordable and inclusive of people with diverse experiences and backgrounds.
Support Us
Support us through our Living Well Foundation and help make quality aged care services available to every resident in Melbourne who needs it. We are a not-for-profit, community based, independent organisation, providing residential aged care regardless of socioeconomic, ethnic or religious background.
Doutta Galla raises money for essential equipment, facilities and programs through the Doutta Galla Living Well Foundation. The Foundation is our charity arm and assists the organisation to improve the quality of life for our residents.
Why do we need to raise money?
The Foundation is of vital importance to Doutta Galla as it enables the organisation to care for people who require our help. Nearly half of Doutta Galla’s approximately 500 aged care residents are in concessional or fully supported places. We are proud to provide twice as many concessional or fully supported places as the regional ratio.
Through our Living Well Foundation, we are able to:
- Purchase aged care specific equipment
- Upgrade or build new wings to our residences
- Introduce new medical technology
- Implement innovative programs, services and initiatives. For example, the creative arts program, the sensory gardens, the Men’s Shed, dementia resources and more.
By 2050, at least 213,000 older people will not be able to access the residential care they need (Access Economics, 2011). Without organisations like Doutta Galla, our vulnerable elders will have poor choices ahead.
If we act now, we can ensure that all Victorians can access the care they need, when they need it. That means we must fundraise to meet our goal of:
- Providing superior care to everyone who needs it, regardless of their ability to pay
- Investing in research and education to deliver our services more effectively
- Adopting world’s best practice to improve the quality of our services
- Supporting the strategic development of our vision of better care for all
Doutta Galla has an audacious vision of residential care. We see a future of great options for older people – deep community connections, advanced clinical care, and a society where age and ability are no barriers to health and happiness.
Our history
The name ‘Doutta Galla’ was given to the western bank of the Moonee Ponds Creek by Robert Hoddle in 1837. History indicates that the name has indigenous origins however the exact origin of the name is not known. It has been suggested that the name originated from a reference in John Batman’s Treaty of Melbourne to the Chief of an original native tribe named “Dutigalla”. Others have suggested that ‘Doutta Galla’ was named after the wife of an indigenous man (Jika Jika) who worked with John Batman. Alternatively, some believe that it is a European corruption of an Aboriginal name for the area, most likely “N’uthergalla”.
In 1937 the electorate of ‘Doutta Galla’ was officially formed as part of the Victorian Legislative Council and underwent various re-divisions up until 2006 when it was dissolved.
The origins of the organisation date back to the late 1980’s when a forward thinking group of concerned community members, who firmly believed that there was a real and genuine need for a charitable, non-denominational aged care organisation to service the needs of the elderly in the electorate of Doutta Galla, and the western inner suburbs more generally got together.
With strong and early support from the City of Melbourne Council, our organisation was officially launched on 12 April 1991 with our first facility, Lynch’s Bridge built and opened in 1992.
The organisation’s earliest mission was to ensure that all individuals within our community should have access to affordable and good quality aged care services – regardless of their individual socio-economic status, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or culture. These aspirations remain an integral part of our mission, vision and values today and will continue to shape the strategic direction of the organisation into the future.
