• A home care package can offer a higher level of support for people living at home with more complex needs.
• A home care package provides a government subsidy towards a package of care to help people to live in their homes for as long as possible.
• The home care packages are based on consumer directed care whereby the person receiving the services chooses the care and services that best meet their needs. This means that a home care package provides choice and flexibility in the way that care and support are provided.

You can arrange this by contacting My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. For further information go to www.myagedcare.gov.au.

• An older person who requires coordinated services in order to remain in their own homes.
• A younger person with a disability, dementia or other special care needs that are not met through other available services.

Contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 to arrange a comprehensive assessment. For further information go to www.myagedcare.gov.au.

• An assessor from an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) will contact you to arrange a time to visit.
• Prior to your assessment it is helpful to have the following information together:
  • Your Medicare card number
  • Any relevant Doctor referrals
  • A list of any concerns that you would like to discuss with the assessor
  • Details of your General Practitioner
  • Details of any support that you already receive
• You might want to have a support person present during your meeting.
• If you want or need support but nobody is available at the time, you can contact the Aged Care Advocacy Line on 1800 700 600. They can help raise your concerns and give you information about your rights in regards to the assessment process.

• At the meeting you will develop a support plan with the assessor. The support plan will include the services and care that best meets your needs, based on your current circumstances.
• After the assessment, the assessor will make a decision about your care needs, your eligibility to receive care and the level of care that best meets your current needs.

• If the assessment determines that you are eligible for support services, then you will receive a letter of approval from ACAT. Sometimes there is a waiting period and it is important that if you have any concerns about the waiting time, that you discuss this with the assessor at the time of your meeting.
• If your circumstances change, you can contact My Aged Care at any time to receive a new assessment.

• Personal hygiene including support with toileting, and dressing/ undressing
• Support with mobilising and communicating

• Assistance with preparing meals,
• Assistance with using eating utensils, cutting up meals
• Assistance with feeding

• Assistance in changing continence aids and appliances
• Assistance with transfers to commodes, bedpans and urinals
• Assistance with catheter/ urinary drainage appliances, and enemas.

• The provision of mobility aids
• Provision of mechanical devices for lifting e.g. hoists
• Provision of pressure-relieving mattresses and more.

• Including speech therapy, podiatry, occupational therapy or physiotherapy services and other clinical services e.g. audiology and vision services
• Nursing care

• Assistance with shopping, visiting health practitioners and attending social activities

• Assistance with wound care, and also skin emollients/ creams

• Video conferencing and digital technology (including remote monitoring) to increase access to timely and appropriate care

• This might include devices that assist you with mobility, communication or personal safety

• Aids and equipment that assists a person to perform activities of daily living can be supplied using funds from your package budget
• Your “Home care agreement” needs to specify whether it is leased or who owns the item and who is responsible for ongoing maintenance and repair costs.

• There are four levels of home care packages and each level provides a different amount of funding.
• This subsidy is paid to an approved home care provider once you have entered into a home care agreement with one.
• The subsidy contributes to the total cost of your service and care delivery. It is also expected that you will contribute to the cost of your care through a basic daily fee, and in some cases an income-tested care fee.

• Your service provider may ask you to pay a basic daily fee.
• The basic daily fee is calculated daily, and you pay the basic daily fee for every day you are receiving a home care package from the day your care starts, to the day your care ends.

• Your service provider may ask you to pay an income-tested care fee that is based on your individual income and is in addition to the basic daily fee.
• It is determined by completing an Aged Care Fees Income Assessment form through the Department of Human Services. The income assessment is purely based on income.
• The amount of subsidy that the Government would normally pay to a provider is reduced by the maximum amount of income-tested care fee that the consumer can be charged.
• For further information go to www.humanservices.gov.au or free call the Department of Human Services on 1800 227 475.

• Your service provider might charge administration costs and case management fees.
• These fees are typically deducted from the home care package government funds that the provider receives.
• Be sure to ask your provider if they charge these fees and how much they charge.