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 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.
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:
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:
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.
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 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.
We are proud to have maintained our independence, charitable status, and commitment to provide accessible, affordable and quality care, regardless of religious, socioeconomic and ethnic background.
Doutta Galla Aged Services acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia’s First People and Traditional Custodians. We value their cultures, identities, and continuing connection to country, waters, kin and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and are committed to making a positive contribution to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by aligning with organisations that are welcoming, safe, culturally appropriate and inclusive.
