Moving into a home

The process of moving in is often referred to as the ‘admission process’ and starts with an initial introduction, orientation and assessment.

During the assessment a staff member will gather information including medical conditions, family history, food preferences, social and recreational likes and dislikes, and interests. This information will be used to create a care plan. The care plan is updated regularly and you can request to see a copy at any time. The care plan will be an overview of your care needs, wishes, and outcomes you want to achieve while living in the facility.

Family members and carers are welcome to assist in identifying social and care needs.

What can you bring with you?

Your aged care home will already have most of the furniture and furnishings, such as beds, chairs, wardrobe, curtains, and floor coverings, so it may be helpful to directly ask the home what you can bring with you. Below you’ll find an overview of some of the main things to consider when moving in.

Personal items

Having personal belongings around you may help you to feel at home in your new environment.

Some people may like to bring family photographs, their favourite films, books, music, or other treasured items.

Clothing

It is important to ensure that personal clothing is properly labelled.

Most nursing homes will launder your clothing either on site or through a laundry service.

Bring enough clothing to allow for items being washed as it might take a couple of days before clean laundry is returned to you.

Because of the large volume of washing, nursing home laundries often use commercial washing and drying machines so make sure your clothes are machine washable and labelled with your full name.

Continence aids

Residents with higher level care needs, who require products for the management of continence, will have these provided by the aged care home. Other residents may be required to purchase these items.

Radios, TVs, computers, digital clocks

Residents can bring with them their preferred electrical and electronic items. Each item will be checked, tested and tagged by the home prior to use.