FAQs

Home Care Packages are delivered on a Consumer Directed Care (CDC) basis. CDC gives you more choice and control over the types of care and services you receive, how care is delivered and who delivers it to you.

Under CDC, you determine the level of involvement you would like to have in managing your own package. You will be provided with a personalised budget so that you can see how much funding is available for services and how the money is being spent.

The types of services provided under a Home Care Package will depend on your needs. Wesley Mission will co-ordinate the care and services to support you at home.

A range of services may be provided under a Home Care Package, including:

• personal services – such as help with showering or bathing, dressing and mobility
• support services – such as help with washing and ironing, house cleaning, gardening, basic home maintenance, home modifications related to your care needs, and transport to help you do shopping, visit your doctor or attend social activities
• clinical care – such as nursing and other health support including physiotherapy (exercise, mobility, strength and balance), services of a dietitian (nutrition assessment, food and nutrition advice, dietary changes) and hearing and vision services.

In addition, as a Home Care Package recipient you may also be eligible to access social support. Programs such as the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) can provide an opportunity for social interaction, friendship and companionship through regular volunteer visits.

You and Wesley Mission can also negotiate other services to support you to live at home where these are identified in your care plan. For example, you may benefit from some aids and equipment to assist with mobility, communication or personal safety. Whatever is agreed must be affordable within the funding available for the package.

Ask yourself these questions:

Are you an older person who needs some help to stay in your own home?
Are you struggling with some aspects of living at home, but you’re still able to manage most of the time?
Do you think if you don’t get some help at home, you might have to go into an aged care home before you’re ready?
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then you may be eligible for a Home Care Package.

There is no minimum age for accessing a Home Care Package, but you will need to be assessed as eligible by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). This is explained below.

You will need to be assessed by a member of an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), to receive help at home through a Home Care Package. To read more about ACAT assessments or find your local ACAT go to myagedcare.gov.au.

If you are assessed as eligible for a package, you will be put in touch with home care providers in your area such as Wesley Mission. There may be a waiting period for packages in some areas.

Once you have been offered a package by a home care provider, they will help you plan your package based on your specific needs.

• Level 1 supports people with basic care needs.
• Level 2 supports people with low-level care needs (equivalent to the former Community Aged Care Packages).
• Level 3 supports people with intermediate care needs.
• Level 4 supports people with high-level care needs (equivalent to the former Extended Aged Care at Home and Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia packages).

All people receiving care under a Home Care Package must be offered a Home Care Agreement. At Wesley Mission we call this the Client Agreement. This is an agreement between you and Wesley Mission that sets out what care and services you will receive.

Any government funding is paid to Wesley Mission. As your service provider we will spend the funds on the items agreed to in your goal orientated care plan and Client Agreement.

The Australian Government pays for the bulk of aged care in Australia—you can see the current levels of subsidy on the Department of Social Services (DSS) website. But as with all aged care services you may be asked to contribute towards the cost of your care if you can afford to do so. You will never be denied the care you need because you cannot afford it.

The funding program or package through which you access aged care services at home will determine how much you will need to pay. Any fees will be discussed and agreed upon with Wesley Mission before you receive the relevant services.

Fee information

If you speak a language other than English you can phone the Translating and Interpreting Services (TIS) on 131 450. TIS cover more than 100 languages and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the cost of a local call.

Alternatively, you can call the National Contact Centre on 1800 200 422 (between 8am and 8pm on weekdays or 10am and 2pm on Saturdays), and they will organise an interpreter through TIS to support the contact centre in communicating with you.

My Aged Care (myagedcare.gov.au) has information on aged care in a number of other languages.

All Home Care Package services support people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD).

People who are deaf or who have a hearing or speech impairment can contact My Aged Care through the National Relay Service in two easy steps:

1. visit the National Relay Service website to choose your preferred access point and
2. ask for My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

Talk to your Wesley Mission Lifestyle Advisor.

My Aged Care has been established by the Australian Government to help you navigate the aged care system. My Aged Care is made up of the website (myagedcare.gov.au) and a national contact centre. Together they can provide you with information on aged care for yourself, a family member, friend or someone you’re caring for. The contact centre can be phoned on 1800 200 422 between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm on weekdays and between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm on Saturdays. The My Aged Care phone line is closed on Sundays and national public holidays.