Assisted Self-Governance: The CASS Model of Volunteering among Older Immigrants

In Australia's multicultural ageing context, older immigrants’ community participation is shaped by institutional arrangements that value inclusion yet struggle to accommodate cultural difference. This article examines how CASS Care Ltd, a long-standing community organisation, supported culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) older adults to become volunteers. Drawing on qualitative analysis of group activities and interviews, the study finds that the defining feature of the CASS Model is assisted self-governance, composed of three interdependent elements: empowerment, institutional support, and cultural sensitivity. Together, these elements explain how older immigrants transition from passive service recipients to active community volunteers. We argue that assisted self-governance is a practical model of culturally responsive governance through which volunteering becomes both community-led and institutionally supported and sustained. By theorising this model, the article advances understandings of ageing, migration, and multicultural governance, illustrating how inclusion can be achieved through relational and culturally grounded forms of organisation.