What is My Aged Care?

  • The My Aged Care website is the starting point for any Australian looking into accessing Australian Government-funded aged care services. It is the most useful starting resource for older Australians, their family and their care providers for finding out more about aged-care related services.
  • My Aged Care provides information about:
    • Your eligibility for different types of services based on your situation, specific needs and background
    • An understanding about the different types of aged-care services available
    • An estimation of the fees you may have to pay
    • The service providers that are available in your local area

Am I eligible for a My Aged Care assessment?

  • This depends on your age, specific needs and background. Based on these factors, you may meet the requirements necessary for an assessment.
  • In terms of age, you must be over 65 years old, or over 50 years old with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.
  • The My Aged Care website provides a very useful “eligibility checker” questionnaire to check whether you are eligible for government-funded aged care services. Click here to use the eligibility checker.
  • You are likely to be eligible for an assessment for government-funded aged care services if you:
    • Have noticed a recent deterioration in your daily functioning, such as doing the dishes, going the grocery shopping, or showering
    • Are having difficulty remembering things, such as where you left your house keys or not remembering to turn off the stove
    • Have been recently diagnosed with a new medical condition, or experienced a deterioration in an already existing medical condition
    • Can no longer walk as far as you once used to, whether this be due to fatigue, shortness of breath, or reduced mobility
    • Have experienced a change in your family care arrangements, or recently become widowed
    • Have experienced a recent fall or hospitalisation

How do I get assessed for a My Aged Care Plan?

  • If you believe you are eligible for government-funded aged care services, the first step in getting as assessment is to either apply for an assessment online or call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 to discuss your needs.
  • The online assessment process is completed on the My Aged Care website and takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Alternatively, you can speak to a speak to a staff member from My Aged Care.

What should I expect when applying for an assessment?

  • For either the online form or phone call, you can expect to be asked about your current situation such as your living circumstances, level or independence, participation in the community, and ability to complete everyday tasks. These questions are designed to confirm that you are eligible for government-funded aged care support.
  • You will also be asked personal details, including your Medicare Card details.
  • Finally, the details of the formal assessment will be arranged such as the day, time and place of the assessment.

What type of assessment will I get?

  • There are two different types of assessments and the type you get will depend on your answers you gave when applying for the assessment.
  • The first type of assessment is called a home support assessment with a Regional Assessment Service (RAS). This assessment is for older Australians who, based on their application responses, require a comparatively low level of support to carry out their everyday tasks independently. This level of support is provided through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.
  • The second type of assessment is called a comprehensive assessment with an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). This assessments is pertinent for older Australians who require a high level of support in their daily life. This support can be provided through Home Care Packages, Short-Term Care Options, and Aged Care Homes.
  • See What are the different types of packages available through My Aged Care? to learn more about these different support programs.

What do I need for my assessment?

  • Your Medicare care
  • Another form of ID (driver’s licence, passport, healthcare card, DVA card)
  • Referral letters from your doctor
  • Contact details of your GP and/ or other health professionals
  • A support person (optional)
  • An interpreter (optional – recommended for those with English as a second language)

What does an assessment involve?

  • An assessor will come to your house and ask your permission to carry out the assessment. They may also ask your permission to speak to people who support you, such as family members, friends or carers.
  • All assessments will involve a detailed discussion between you, the assessor and your support person (if appropriate) about your current needs. The assessor will ask you about:
    • Your current level of support (if any), and whether this support will continue
    • Your health, diagnosed medical conditions, medications
    • How you are managing everyday life, and how independent you are in carrying out daily tasks
    • Whether you, or anyone around you, has noticed a deterioration in your function such as your cognitive, memory, judgment, and/or mobility
    • Any concerns about your personal safety living at home
    • Your level of participation in social and community activities
  • Following this discussion, the assessor will work with you to develop a support plan based on your strengths, difficulties, goals and preferences for services.
  • You have a right to ask as many questions as you like during the assessment process and it is the best time to learn as much as possible about all the different services available to you.

When do I find out if I’m eligible for government-funded aged care services?

  • You will find out your eligibility at the time of the assessment if you are being assessed for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.
  • If you are undergoing a more extensive assessment with the Aged Care Assessment Team, it can take two to six weeks after your assessment to find out if you are eligible for home care, short-term care, or aged care home services.

What are the different types of aged care services available to me?

  • There main types of support services you can access as an older Australian that are either fully or partially funded by the Federal Government are broken down into three main categories:
    • Help at home
    • Short-term care
    • Aged care homes
  • These services are included in the different support packages that have been established by the Federal Government for which you may be eligible.

Help at home

  • If you are getting older and noticing living at home is becoming more difficult, there is help available to you. Many older Australians wish to stay living at home, and this is a very understandable and also realistic goal for many people.
  • There are a range of different services available that can help you to stay living at home depending on your specific needs and goals. These services fall into four main categories based on your needs.
  • Read on below to learn about these four categories of help and the types of services they include.

 

Help at home Types of services
Getting out and staying social
  • Organising for a social visitor to your home or a telephone-based social call
  • Arranging participation in social and group-based leisure activities
  • Assisting you in setting up a phone or internet-based communication service to contact family and friends
  • Arranging transport services for social events, health appointments and shopping
Keeping well
  • Assistance with personal daily tasks such as toileting, showering, washing hair, shaving, getting dressed and undressed
  • Helping you with getting in and out of bed
  • Reminding you about taking your medications
  • Helping you with certain impairment such as vision or memory loss
  • Preparing your meals or assisting in organising meal delivery services
  • Formal nursing care in the home to look after your general health through various ways such as administering medication, wound care and health education
  • Access to a range of allied health services such as speech therapy, podiatry and physiotherapy
Keeping home liveable
  • Organising mobility aid devices such as crutches, walking frames and bed rails
  • Assisting in making necessary changes within your home to ease your movements and reduce falls hazards by installing ramps and grab rails
  • Cleaning services such as help with making beds, tidying your home, and doing laundry
  • Helping keep your garden healthy and clean by attending to uneven flooring and full gutters

Click here for more information about help-at-home services

Short-term care

  • These services are designed to provide care to you for a set period of time that is generally a few days to a few weeks, as opposed to requiring ongoing, longer term support.
  • Short-term care packages are designed for older Australians who may have recently had a fall or hospital stay and require extra assistance to return to their baseline functioning level whilst they recover, or to provide a break for family members or close friends that may care for an older loved one.
  • Read on below to learn about these types of short-term care services available.
Short-term care Types of services
Respite
  • Both day and night-respite services are available that are designed to give both you and your carer a break
  • Centre-based respite allows you to spend time interacting with other people in a day centre, generally between 10:00AM and 3:00PM on any given day.
  • Cottage respite is available overnight and over a weekend and takes place either in the community or within a host family’s home.
  • Flexible respite involves a paid carer staying overnight in your home to give your usual carer a break.
  • Residential respite allows you to stay in an aged care home for a few days to a few weeks if you require ongoing, continuous assistance for most daily tasks.
Transition care
  • Nursing assistance with pain management, wound care, oxygen therapy and medications
  • Allied health support such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, speech pathology.
Restoring independence
  • Many services can assist in restoring or maintaining independence in a range of setting such as your home, a health community centre, or aged care home
  • These services all are designed to either reverse or slow down the decline in your ability to complete everyday tasks
  • The services range from restoring ability to move around with physiotherapy support, carers to help with personal care such as showering, or counselling services to improve mental health

How much will short-term care services cost me?

Service type Cost
Restoring independence
  • $11.02 per day maximum for day care received in your own home or in the community
  • $53.56 per day maximum for day care received in an aged care facility
Transition care
  • $11.02 per day maximum for day care received in your own home or in the community
  • $53.56 per day maximum for day care received in an aged care facility
Residential respite
  • $53.56 per day maximum as the basic daily fee

Note: the fees for respite in aged care facilities are not the same as the fees for permanent residents. You may also be required to pay a booking fee, additional service fees, and extra service fees depending on the provider

How do I find a provider of short-term services?

  • Firstly, you must apply for an aged care assessment and be assessed to determine whether you qualify for short-term restorative services.
  • Click here for more information from the My Aged Care website for detailed steps on how to find and connect with residential respite providers

Click here more information about short-term care services

Aged care homes

  • Residential aged care homes are government-funded living facilities for older Australians who can no longer live independently at home. They provide the highest degree of support within the government’s aged care system.
  • The Federal Government provided funding for some, but not all, aged care homes around Australia. The funding a home receives depends on an assessment of your needs conducted by the particular facility and your financial ability to contribute to the costs of your care.
  • Aged care homes not only provide a roof over your head but also provide meals, laundry services, cleaning, heating, cooling, social events, personal care and clinical care.

Click here for more information about aged care homes

How much will an aged care home cost me?

  • The cost of living in a residential aged care facility differs from person to person. The costs depends on the prices set by the aged care home that you choose as well as your ability to contribute financially to your place at the home.
  • Each aged care home sets its own costs and the amount you pay will depend on the specific home as well as the assessment of your income and assets. Every home has three main associated costs: a basic fee, accommodation costs, and a means-tested care fee.
  • A basic daily fee capped at a maximum of $53.56 per day. A basic daily fee will be set by the specific home and the same for all its residents.
  • Accommodation costs which are set by each home and vary according to the different kind of rooms. There is a refundable deposit of up to $550, 000.
  • Means-tested care fee capped at a maximum of $259.25 per day. When you apply for a subsided place at an aged care home, Services Australia will conduct an assessment of your ability to contribute to the costs based on your income and assets. The means-tested care fee amount will differ from person to person and not everyone is required to pay it. The amount may also change over time if you financial circumstances change, and the maximum fee of $259.25 per day also changes automatically in response to changes in the cost of living in general. This is known as indexation.
  • Click here for most information about the costs of aged care homes
  • Click here to get an estimate of the costs of an aged care home for you

What are the different types of aged care packages available to me?

Commonwealth Home Support Programme

  • The CHSP is designed to help older Australians access entry-level support services that are designed to keep them living independently and safely at home.
  • The aim of this program is to help you do things for yourself, rather than doing things for you. It is a more basic and lower level of support compared to home care packages or aged care homes.
  • The types of services included in the Commonwealth Home Support Programme include but are not limited to:
    • Helping with household tasks such as cleaning, laundry, making beds
    • Providing equipment to help with mobility such as walking frames or crutches
    • Installing devices in your house to reduce falls risks such as rails or ramps
    • Encouraging socialising through organised visitors or outings
    • Transporting you to social events, leisure activities and appointments
    • Maintaining your nutrition by preparing meals or organising meal delivery services
    • Helping with personal hygiene, grooming, toileting, showering
    • Specialised care for incontinence issues, disabilities and impairments
    • Nursing for wound management, pain relief, oxygen therapy
    • Allied health services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry
  • Following your assessment for the program, you can search for service providers in your local area to support you. Providers all receive funding by the Federal Government which enables them to charge for services at a subsided rate. You are expected to pay a contribution to the costs of the services. The amount of your contribution will depend on the particular services and your financial capacity.
  • Click here for more information about CHSP in general
  • Click here for more information about the costs associated with the CHSP

Home Care Packages (HCP)

  • Home care packages are designed to help older Australians who either have more complex needs or require assistance with many everyday tasks. Essentially, home care packages are a step up from the Commonwealth Home Support Program.
  • Home care packages deliver a variety of services that overlap with the services provided by the Commonwealth Home Support Programme listed above.
  • There are four different levels of home care packages based on your level of support needed. Once you have been assessed and assigned to a certain package level, you are able to search for providers of the support services that you require. Once you have chosen a provider, the Federal Government pays your provider a subsidy to deliver your care needs.
Package level Level of care Funding amount per annum
Level 1 Basic needs $9, 026.25
Level 2 Low care needs $15, 877.50
Level 3 Intermediate care needs $34, 550.90
Level 4 High care needs $52, 377.50
  • Although the government provides funding assistance, you may be required to pay some fees for the services included in your care package. These may include a basic daily fee to your provider, an income-tested care fee, and other additional fees. It is expected that do contribute to the costs of your support services if you have the financial ability to do so.
  • Click here for more information about home care packages in general
  • Click here for more information about the costs and fees of home care package
  • Click here to get an estimate of how much a Home Care Package will cost you