Home Care Packages

Assistance in taking your medications

Providing mobility equipment such as crutches, walking frames, wheelchairs and mechanical devices for lifting, bed rails, slide sheets and pressure relieving mattresses, and assistance in using those aids

Home maintenance for care of your house or garden

Modifications to the home, and installing safety aids such as alarms, ramps and support rails as well as advising on areas of the home that pose safety risks and suggesting solutions to mitigate those risks

Transport and assistance for appointments or social activities

Encouragement to take part in social and community activities that promote and protect your lifestyle, interests and wellbeing

Services / items not provided?

The following services or items are not included in a package in any of the four levels of home care:

Using the package money as a source of income for the consumer

Purchase of food, except for enteral feeding requirements

Paying for accommodation such as assistance with home purchase, mortgage payments or rent

Payment of fees or charges for other types of care funded, or jointly funded, by the Australian Government

Home modifications or capital items that are not related to the consumer’s care needs

Travel and accommodation for holidays

Cost of entertainment activities, such as club memberships and tickets to sporting events

Payment for services and items covered by the Medicare Benefits

Schedule or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Gambling activities

Are you eligible?

To receive a Home Care Package you will need to be assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT).

The ACAT helps you, and your carer, determine what kind of care will best meet your needs when you are no longer able to manage on your own. A member of the service, which may include a doctor, nurse, social worker, and/or other health professional, will meet with you to assess your care needs and how well you are managing at home.

They will identify the right services for your needs and the level of care you require.

The ACAT will give you a letter stating the types of subsidised services you have been approved for and might also put you in contact with organisations in your area that can deliver these services.

For more details about ACAT go to page 22 or call 1800 200 422 to organise an assessment.

Priority

Access to Home Care Packages is managed through a national pool of all available packages. After approval for a HCP you will be placed in a ‘queue’ until a suitable package becomes available. This may take a number of weeks or even months.

Your place in the queue will be determined by your personal needs and circumstances and the time you have been waiting for care since your assessment.

When you reach the front of the queue and a package is assigned to you, you can begin to receive care from the provider of your choice.

You have 56 days from the date you were assigned a package to find a provider and commence services.

You can request an extension, for example if you have trouble finding a service provider, but if you haven’t started receiving care within 84 days, the package will return to the queue and be assigned to the next person in line.

Approved providers

An organisation that has been approved by the Government to provide aged care services is called an approved provider.

The Government will pay your approved provider your allocated funding so they can pay the carers and any other bills.

An approved provider can manage your care, liaise with you about your preferences, requirements and care plan but it doesn’t have to be the provider delivering your care.

It is important to know that even though a HCP can only be managed by an approved provider, the care can be delivered by any provider, even one that is not supported by the Government. This gives you more choice as to who delivers your care.

Home Care Agreement

This agreement is made between you and your provider and covers information such as the care and services you will receive and how much they will cost.

Your provider will work with you to develop a care or service plan that is based on your needs.

The care plan you agree to should include:

The exact types of services you will receive

Who will provide which services

How much involvement the service provider will have in managing and coordinating your services

When your services are delivered

Any exit amount the provider will charge to cover administrative cost if you decide to take your package elsewhere or cease care