How to Organise Home Care in Australia

Are you interested in home care but you’re not sure where to start? Surveys show that most older adults prefer home care over traditional aged care facilities. However, many older adults don’t feel confident arranging home care when the time comes.

To make this process easy and fuss-free, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide for organising home care in Australia. Keep reading to learn more.

1. ASSESS YOUR NEEDS

The first step to organising home care is to assess your situation. Are any day-to-day tasks becoming more difficult as you age? Are you struggling to keep your home tidy and well-maintained? There are a number of home care services available to support you with these changes, which include:

Do a bit of research and identify any useful services, to prepare for your assessment (covered in part 2).

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2. ASSESS YOUR OPTIONS

There are two methods of accessing home care services in Australia. The first, is via government funding, and the second is through private payment.

If you think you may be eligible for government-subsidised home care, begin by contacting My Aged Care for an assessment. Your assessor will take your needs, preferences, family situation, and living situation into account when deciding your eligibility. And if you are successful, you will either enter the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) if you have more basic needs, or receive a Home Care Package (HCP) if you have more complex needs. With your input, your assessor will also identify which services you will receive funding for, based on your individual situation.

Note: there may be a waiting period before your government-subsidised services are available.

If you’re not eligible for government-subsidised home care, or if you’d like to access home care services as soon as possible, you might decide to fund your care privately. Also, it’s worth noting that My Aged Care may only provide government funding for services that you really need. Some older adults choose to privately fund additional care, which may not be essential, but could improve their quality of life.

3. CONTACT A PROVIDER

Now that you have funding organised and have chosen your support services, go ahead and contact a home care provider. Your chosen provider will discuss your needs, goals, and preferences with you, and produce a care plan. Once your care plan has been established, your home care can begin! If your needs change in the future, you can easily upgrade or downgrade your home care. But if your care is through an HCP or CHSP, you may need to undergo further assessment with My Aged Care.

If you’d like some help navigating this process, we’re more than happy to help. Click here to contact us.

Could you or your loved one use some extra help at home? Here at After-Care, we provide a range of home care services for older adults and people living with disability. Click here to learn more and contact us today.