We’ve all heard about the changes that are coming to Australia’s aged care system, but what do they mean for you, the participant?
We’ve previously given a general overview of the changes that are coming under Support at Home, but let’s dig a little deeper and look at the specifics of changes to the assessment process.
Eligibility
You are eligible for support services if you need help to do the things you used to do at home and
- You are 65 years of age or older, or 50 years and older if you identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person OR
- You are a younger person with a disability, dementia or other care needs not met through other specialist services.
Making a referral to My Aged Care
The way you make a referral to My Aged Care hasn’t changed. Remember, My Aged Care is a contact centre. You can either phone them or make your referral online. The referral process is very generic so it’s really important that you note everything you need help with and why you need help (think pain, reduced strength or impaired mobility). Being stoic will only disadvantage you.
Being contacted after making a referral
Once you make a referral, it will be sent out to an assessment organisation (more on this below). You will be contacted by a member of the organisation’s triage team who will determine what sort of assessment you’ll receive based on your discussion with them and the information you gave on your referral. Once again, it’s so important to convey all your needs and the reasons why you can’t complete tasks without help.
Do I get a say in which assessment organisation contacts me?
No you don’t. Assessment organisations operate with a single assessment workforce and there are different organisations throughout the country, often more than one in any given area, so it depends on who receives your referral.
What is the single assessment workforce?
This is the new workforce that began operating towards the end of 2024. It consists of both clinical and non-clinical assessors. The previous terminology of RAS (Regional Assessment Service) and ACAT/ACAS (Aged Care Assessment Team/Service) is no longer in use.
Every assessment organisation has both clinical and non-clinical assessors. This means that if you start by having an assessment with a non-clinical assessor and your needs are higher or more complex, the non-clinical assessor can refer you to a clinical assessor, but you will stay within the same assessment organisation. This differs from the old system whereby you moved from one organisation to another.
All organisations conducting aged care needs assessments under the Single Assessment System workforce, are able to do both:
- Home support assessments for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)
- Comprehensive assessments for
- Home care packages
- Flexible aged care programs
- Residential respite
- Entry into residential aged care
Both types of assessment come under the umbrella term “aged care needs assessment”. An aged care needs assessment works out a person’s care needs and the types of care and services a person may be eligible for.
What's the integrated assessment tool (IAT)?
The integrated assessment tool (IAT) is the new form that every assessor will use for every person’s assessment. The information you give at every stage of assessment is collected and stored so that you don’t have to keep giving the same information over and over. This is referred to as pre-populating the form.
The IAT is a dynamic tool, meaning that the information that each person provides may trigger further questions that allow for more in-depth exploration of that person's needs or concerns. This is designed to tailor each person’s assessment to their specific needs.
The IAT will then use an algorithm to determine what level of support a person may be eligible for.
Although the information you give is pre-populated, you are able to update your information if your situation has changed. It’s important that you get this information across as soon as you are able to, as changes to your situation may lead to you being eligible for different levels of support.
What’s this look like in real terms?
- A referral is made to My Aged Care
- The referral is sent to an assessment organisation
- The team leader of the assessment organisation reviews the referral and then accepts it (or rejects it).
- A triage process occurs, usually done over the phone, with the team leader and the contact person on the referral (this may be the participant or their nominated representative). Ideally this should happen within three calendar days. The purpose of triage is to determine:
- eligibility for an assessment
- assessment type
- priority of the assessment
- whether urgent services and/or linking supports are required, if these services were not provided at screening.
According to the Department’s website, the triage process must be completed by a clinical staff member with the Triage Delegate title who holds the Team Leader role in the My Aged Care assessor portal.
5. The triage delegate assigns the referral to the appropriate assessor within their organisation
6. The assessor contacts the person or their nominated representative to determine when the assessment will occur.
Support at Home is in a transition period. Workforces are still being trained. The processes outlined above should be fully implemented by July 2025. For this reason, as we often tell people, be very sure of what your needs are and be confident to get this information across whenever you are contacted by anyone from any assessment services.