Remain living independently in your own home for longer with access to My Aged Care.
Most Australians want to be in charge of decisions about how they live their lives, all their lives, even if they have to deal with health and mobility challenges.
If you need a little extra support in your daily life, you can access aged care support services. With these support services, you can live independently, wherever and however you want to.
My Aged Care is the starting point for accessing Australian Government-funded aged care services.
Generally speaking, My Aged Care is available for people over 65 years of age (or Indigenous Australians aged 50+) who need extra support to continue living well.
You might be eligible if you meet certain criteria, including:
Depending on your eligibility, the government might fund your needs partially or entirely.
You can check your eligibility on MyAgedCare or apply for an assessment.
There are four basic steps involved in your journey to receiving My Aged Care benefits.
Aged care support and services fall into three categories:
All of these types of care are acceptable as reasons to apply for My Aged Care.
To access My Aged Care funding, you’ll need to complete an assessment.
First, apply on the MyAgedCare website or phone 1800 200 422 to speak to someone at My Aged Care.
Next, an assessor will visit your home to determine which aged care services you could benefit from.
When your HCP is approved, you don’t receive the funds directly. A HCP provider ‘hosts’ your funding and pays invoices for services arranged through your HCP on your behalf. They may also be called a ‘Home Care Package fund manager’.
You can start looking for a HCP provider any time you like, even before you are approved for a HCP. That way, you have plenty of time to learn about how they operate and compare the costs. When your package is approved, you’ll be ready to sign up and begin receiving support.
You have the option to:
To have more control over how you spend your funding and choosing the people who support you, what they do and when, you can self-manage your HCP.
All you need to do is find a provider that offers a self-management option, such as HomeMade. Find out more about self-managing your HCP.
If you want to explore self-managing your HCP, look for a provider that offers you genuine self-management. Explore the options available, compare the costs involved, and have some conversations with the providers. You might want to involve family members or friends as you decide which one works best for you. As soon as your existing provider says you can self-manage, you can start connecting with support workers through Mable or call 1300 736 573.
Self-managing your Home Care Package means paying lower administration fees, resulting in more of your funding available to spend on you. Self-management also gives you total control over how your home care funding is spent, meaning you have the final say, rather than a provider or agency.
It is important to understand the costs of your HCP before you choose your home care provider, so that you can make the right decision regarding your support and care management needs.
When you receive a HCP, you have a budget to pay for the support services you need. The budget depends on the level of care you need, which is determined by your HCP level.
Your home care package budget includes:
Find out more about home HCP costs and fees.
For comprehensive information about what contributions you will make, visit the My Aged Care website.
Yes, you can. When it comes to accessing home care services with your package funds, understanding what supports these can be spent on is important.
My Aged Care provides a good overview of services:
The full list of home care services is provided in the Quality of Care Principles 2014 on the Federal Register of Legislation website, Schedule 3 – Care and services for home care services.
You certainly can. If you’d like to book more hours of support than your funding covers, you can pay privately for them.
While you wait for your HCP to be approved, you may be eligible for entry-level support services to live independently and safely at home, through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP). Alternatively, you can connect with Independent Support Workers through Mable and pay privately until you receive your allocated HCP funding.
If you are a couple who lives at the same address, you can still access aged care services for each of you. You will each need to be assessed independently and wait for your packages to come through. Everything is evaluated on an individual basis.
As an older Australian, you may very well be entitled to My Aged Care funding to go towards support services that help keep you healthy, independent and connected to your community. Keep in mind there could be long wait times between your assessment, approval and commencement. Apply for an assessment online here.
In the meantime, if you are looking for aged care, you can directly engage with a variety of independent support workers on Mable.
The community of support workers on Mable provides a variety of support services. They are thoroughly checked and are only able to provide support once they are approved under the strict processes. You can find out more about the approval process.
The Mable platform is designed to provide clients with as much choice, personalisation and independence as possible by allowing clients to post job ads, book support workers and negotiate rates.
Privately paying for your support means you can access the independence that some service providers may not offer. If you’re looking for an alternative support option while you wait for a HCP or are considering a different support system, Mable can help you maintain that
Choose a support worker and mutually agree on rates.
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