Meals on Wheels Victoria recognises that significant reform of the current aged care system is
underway and a new Support at Home Program and Assessment Framework will be introduced as
of July 2023. The Best Practice Guidelines recognise the value of older people to their community, including the opportunities to participate as volunteers. Strong emphasis is placed on services that are
person-centred, support independence and social connectedness. Each person’s individual goals,
choices and control are fundamental principles of Meals on Wheels services.
Meals on Wheels Victoria believes the service model is as relevant as it ever was. The new
Guidelines challenge us to think about who we are, what we do, how we optimise our value in
creating healthy, active and connected communities, and how we ensure this iconic asset and service
is sustained for the benefit of future generations.
The Meals on Wheels Victoria Best Practice Guidelines are intended for;
1. Services; to ensure they are operating to best practice standards
Stand-alone services or the organisation they are part of
2. Organisations; to guide benchmarking and writing tender specifications
Local Government, Health Networks, other not-for-profit entities, meal producers
3. Communities; to know what they should be expecting from their local services.
Customers and advocates, volunteers, related service providers
You can read the Best Practice Guidelines here.
The production of these Guidelines was project managed by Nelson Mathews who co-wrote the document with Simone Marais.
A consultation process occurred in May 2021 inviting contributions from the Meals on Wheels Victoria
Committee and all service provider representatives in Victoria. Thanks to all those who took the time to read the draft and feedback their ideas and suggestions.
Special thanks to Heather Mathews and Rhonda Parker for their valuable insights and ideas, and to the
previous Meals on Wheels Victoria President, Margo Holness, for her contribution to the original 2015 version.
Thanks to Nicole Ransom for her proof reads and supplying the photographs.
Thanks to all our wonderful volunteers. In particular, Carmel Barker for her early proof reads and administrative support and Caitlin Learmonth for assisting with footnotes and references.
Very special thanks to our project volunteer Whitney Jennings, for being instrumental in the design and her endless patience in pulling it all together.
