How You Can Access Subsidised Home Care Packages

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Careabout

The Department of Health has a support program for older Australians to help them remain independent at home, particularly those with complex needs. This program is called the Home Care Package. There are now aged care service providers who offer Home Care Packages to eligible recipients, by working with the person and finding out exactly what services they need and how best to provide them with these services.

Home care services can be anything from assisting with personal care, mobility support, cleaning and gardening help, or support with particular health issues that require, for example, nursing or physiotherapy. Home care can also include communication assistance, including the provision of hearing rehabilitation services such as hearing devices.

If you, or someone you know, could benefit from services via the Home Care Package program, it’s important to know your rights as a consumer, and what to expect from your Home Care Package provider.

Care recipients

If you are eligible to receive services through the Home Care Package program, there are a number of funding options to be taken into account. For eligible Care recipients, there is a government subsidy, which may or may not include supplements, depending on need, and a requirement for every recipient to pay a ‘basic daily fee’. 

The amount you have to pay will depend on the package level you will be receiving, and it may also depend on your income.

Your Home Care Package Provider will work with you to not only coordinate and deliver your care requirements, but will also calculate the costs, including your daily fee and determine any subsidies or supplements you can get from the government. You may also wish to pay for additional services not covered in your package, and this too, can be arranged.

You can discuss these services with your Provider to see if they offer them.

Once your home care package has been determined you will be required to sign a home care agreement with your Provider.

This agreement will outline what services you will get, how they will be provided, and the cost of the services.

Provider responsibilities

Providers of home care must adhere to certain responsibilities including the quality of care they provide. Providers must understand the rights of the clients they are providing the service to and they are accountable for their service provision under the Aged Care Act. 

Service providers must also ensure that they have properly trained and qualified staff who will be providing the home care services to you.

Your Provider must also work with you, ensuring you are getting the services you need and/or want. They must give you sufficient information about the Home Care Package services so that you, or the person acting on your behalf, can make an informed decision about the support you will be receiving.

A Home Care provider must provide an updated list of their services and prices, to be displayed on the My Aged Care website. They must adhere to their advertised prices unless they enter into a written agreement with the person they are providing the service to, or the person acting on their behalf.

New services such as Careabout help you find home care providers who you can trust.

If your provider makes any changes to their pricing schedule they must inform you, ensuring you are clear on the changes and how they may affect you and the services you are receiving.

Eligibility for the Home Care Package program

To find out if you, or someone you care for, is eligible for the Home Care Package program you will need to register on the My Aged Care website and go through the assessment process. 

There is a national priority system as the demand is high for the Home Care Package program.

So if you think you, or someone else, would be eligible for this program, registering should be a high priority to ensure you can get access to the home care services required.