To explain what that means, “A Home Care Package is an amount of funding provided by the Australian Government for an eligible aged person to receive a coordinated set of services that one organisation provides to enable that person to stay independent and living in their own home.”

communityservices1.org

The next thing you’ll likely want to know are what funding is available and how it is determined.

“The Government subsidy is allocated according to care needs and is broken down into levels one to four, with four being the highest.”

The “ACAT (Aged Care Assessment Team) assesses each client and determines their level of funding according to their level of needs.”

Daily Subsidy Level:  

Being a subsidy, “Consumers can be asked to pay both an income tested fee and a basic daily fee.”

Amanda compared the basic structure of this funding model to the NDIS.

They are similar in that the person needing the care gets to choose their provider.

This means the consumer, that’s you, will have more control over the specific care that you receive.

Amanda notes that “This is the first time that government-funded care has been directly allocated to individuals rather than through a grants process to an organisation.

“This means that organisations now have to improve their services and focus on what consumers want”.

Community Services #1 launched their home care packages in July and they believe they are the first not-for-profit in the ACT to provide such packages.

So what services can you purchase?

“In order to become an approved provider, an organisation must demonstrate that they have the capacity to deliver all the services available in a nursing home to a consumer in their own home.”

To give you some examples, the services range from domestic assistance such as cleaning or gardening, through to assisted transport.

That’s not just a vehicle arriving at your door either.

That’s someone who will physically help you and ensure you get to your appointments, will go in to see the doctor with you if necessary, get any prescriptions filled, and then home again.

There’s also personal care which means help with showering and dressing.

For more information on the Home Care Packages call 02 6126 4700 and ask for Rolf.

Rolf will also be at the Community Services #1 Open Day on Saturday October 28 at Griffith Hall.