Australian Hearing Centre - Back in Bankstown

It just wasn't good enough. The permanent centre had been replaced by a temporary facility that was open just one day a week. People with impaired hearing were being forced to wait up to 10 days for their hearing aids to be repaired. For others, it meant having to travel 20km out of the area to access essential hearing services.

Jason first heard about the problem during a street meeting with residents in Yagoona. He acted quickly and invited the Minister for Human Services, Joe Ludwig, to a public meeting in Bankstown.

There, local residents Hilda and Charlie Garwood told the Minister about the difficulties they faced. "If Charlie didn't have his hearing aids because they were being sent to Liverpool for repairs, which took 8-10 days, the TV was so loud, I couldn't sit in the same room as him," said Hilda.

Services were being provided at the back of a medical centre one day a week in a small consultation room. There were no on-site repairs.

The Minister listened to the concerns raised by Jason and the community, and a prompt decision was made to establish a new, permanent hearing centre in Bankstown.

In November, 2008, Jason opened the new Australian Hearing facility -.providing convenient, quality healthcare five days a week to the people of Bankstown.