What Is A Home Care Package?

What are the levels of Home Care packages and how much is the funding?

Home Care Packages are an allocation of Federal government funding, otherwise known as a subsidy.

This funding is assigned to the person when they accept their Home Care Package and can be used for a variety of services and support to help them remain living in their own home.

These services and support constitute the package.

4 Different levels...

There are four levels of Home Care Packages, from level 1 for basic care needs to level 4 for high care needs.

Each different level attracts a different amount of subsidy. Many people refer to this as the value of the package. 

The table below shows the amount of funding allocated to each level of Home Care Package as of July 1st, 2023. The government contribution changes on 1st July every year.

Additional Supplements?

There may be other additional supplements available to a person receiving a Home Care Package, depending on the person’s health status, geographical location, and individual circumstances. These additional supplements are extra funding on top of the Home Care Package subsidy.

To receive an approval for a Home Care Package, an older person must have been assessed by the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). Based on the amount of support that is required to assist someone to remain living in their own home, the ACAT will approve for the appropriate level of Home Care Package.

The ACAT will also determine the priority for the older person to be assigned their package. The priority means where the person sits in the national queue and how long they'll wait until a package becomes available and is assigned to them. The ACAT will determine if the person should be a low, medium or high priority.

Though the ACAT determine the priority, it still depends on the availability of Home Care Packages within the system as to when a person's Home Care Package will be assigned to them. Typically, a medium priority means a wait of 3-6 months and a high priority means a wait of 1-3 months for the person to be assigned their Home Care Package.

There are also more lower-level packages available than the higher-level packages, which also affects the wait time for people to be assigned their package. If you've been approved for a level 1 Home Care Package, you are likely to have it assigned to you faster than someone who has been approved for a level 4 Home Care Package, if you are both at the same priority level.

You'll receive a letter from My Aged Care as you're getting closer to having your package assigned, typically around 3 months before. Then you'll receive another letter advising that your package has been assigned. You have 56 days to enter into an agreement with a provider. It's possible to ask My Aged Care for an extension to the uptake date too, if you haven't had time to choose a provider and complete the agreement document.

The words "approved" and "assigned" often confuse people. The ACAT approve for a Home Care Package, that is, they determine you are eligible to receive one. However, you still need to wait until the funding becomes available for you to use. When this happens, your Home Care package will be assigned to you.

What support and services can I access in my Home Care Package?

The services and support you receive from your Home Care Package funding reflect what your specific needs are.

Your specific needs are detailed in your Care Plan, which is developed by your chosen Home Care Package provider, in consultation with you, when you sign up with the provider.

The Home Care Package provider shouldn't be telling you what you can have from your package. It is up to you to choose how you want to spend the funding to enable your well-being and independence. The provider should be working with you to develop you care plan, as this approach underpins the intent of the program, being consumer directed.

You can spend your package funding on services around your home and garden. You can engage clinicians to support you, such as physios, occupational therapists, podiatrists, dieticians or nurses. You can buy equipment to make life easier for you, such as a recliner chair, mobility aids, over toilet frames and shower chairs. Or you can buy continence aids, a personal alarm, a computer or tablet or even have your dog washed, if washing your dog poses a falls risk to you.

Though some services or purchases may be on the excluded list of January 2023 Home Care Package program manual, there are exceptional circumstances that allow people to have items that are excluded paid for by their package funding.

In this instance, the detail in your Care Plan, aligned with your specific health needs, is how a provider will justify that expenditure, should they be audited and asked why a service or purchase was allowed.

There are some definite things you can't use you package funding for though.

A Home Care Package cannot be used for:

• General household bills (electricity bills, rates)
• Rent or mortgage repayments
• Home care fees
• General home modifications not related to care needs
• Travel and accommodation for holidays
• Gambling
• Payment for services already covered under Medicare or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

There are many things a person can receive within their Home Care Package.

What one person receives or is able to purchase may look different to what another person may receive.

If there is something you'd like to purchase or some service you'd like to access, talk with your package coordinator. Discuss how your needs are reflected in your Care Plan to validate your requested purchase or service.