Opportunity, ideal or distraction? Exploring stakeholder perceptions of tackling energy poverty and vulnerability among older Australians

Energy vulnerability intersects with housing, social and health issues, yet current siloed approaches and piecemeal energy assistance initiatives are often leaving ‘hard to reach’ older householders behind. Cross-disciplinary strategies promise better identification of vulnerable people, sustained relief and scalable solutions, yet such innovative approaches are still rare. Using the Australian in-home aged care services as a case study, this research explored how stakeholders perceived the idea of integrating energy assistance with health services for people aged 65 and over. Understanding the views of potential advocates and adopters may guide the development, design and implementation of such an innovation. This study engaged front-line workers, executives and policy makers across organisations aiming at carbon emission reduction, equity and health. Climate action stakeholders and in-home aged care services staff recognised synergies across their programmes and welcomed the idea as an opportunity to address hidden energy poverty. Equity stakeholders perceived it as an ideal and doubted that its aspirations were likely to be fully realised given the priorities of vulnerable, older people. An aged care services industry representative, however, saw this proposition as a distraction from dealing with the broader challenges of an ageing population. These insights highlight the need to co-design such an initiative. The engagement of health policy makers is critical but challenging. Further research is needed to align energy assistance with the needs and circumstances of in-home aged care services clients and to develop solutions for older renters.