News

January 30, 2026

Meet the team – Carrie Akhurst

Hi, I’m Carrie, co-founder of Culturally Directed Care Solutions (CDCS). Donna and I officially established CDCS in 2013, after working together for more than a decade in the aged care and health sectors. I’ve spent much of my career coordinating and managing aged care services in rural and remote communities, which has given me a strong, practical understanding of the realities providers face – particularly around workforce pressures, compliance and reform. 

I’m passionate about supporting aged care providers to deliver culturally safe care that is guided by the people and communities they serve. Through CDCS, I work alongside providers to build confidence in governance, compliance and day-to-day operations by offering training, mentoring, pre-audit reviews and practical resources. My focus is on making complex requirements easier to navigate, especially for smaller, rural and remote services, so culture remains central to how aged care is planned, delivered and experienced. 

Q&A with Carrie 

What does your role at the Support Hub involve?   

Working with the NATSIFACP resource development team to create a series of animated videos and storyboards that will help providers explain aspects of the reforms in an accessible format, creating workshop and site visit resources and researching answers to questions raised by providers. 

What’s one area you’re particularly focused on right now?  

Developing site visit resources. 

What do you enjoy most about working with NATSIFAC program service providers?  

The passion that managers, coordinators and staff have for delivering care and services that meet the holistic needs of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

What’s something you’d like providers to know as reforms roll out?  

We’re here to help. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask that ‘I know this is probably a silly question’, because it’s not a silly question and a quick call or email to the support hub can save you hours of time that you probably don’t have spare.   

What’s your favourite downtime activity?   

At the moment it is learning the Korean language. Having never learnt a second language before it’s a challenge and I take my hat off to all those people I have met over the years out bush who speak 3, 4 and even more languages.