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Aged care home help


MaryanneK

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This is more social issue than politics but.... wondering if anyone can give me a very rough idea of fees for in home aged care assistance? I've just looked at the government my aged care site and it just says fees depend on provider and financial circumstances.

I'm looking at things like help with basic house/garden maintenance, basic nursing care and heading towards needing help with showering etc.

My parents are probably fairly well cashed up but I don't know any details of exactly how much they have in addition to a valuable home. Does it scale, like childcare? I'm just looking for a broad idea of like, if you are on the pension with no assets then home help costs 10 an hour, if you have 2 million in your super account then it's 50 bucks an hour. That sort of thing. Does anyone know? In Metro Melbourne if that makes a difference.

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Have either or both of them had an assessment? That will determine their entitlement for a package that is government funded with contributions. I understand there are significant waits for packages so you might want to start of with privately funding gardening, cleaning etc if it looks like being a long delay.


The RSL has arranged for their mower man to do my parent’s garden, such a relief as I am interstate and struggle to organise that sort of thing.

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A ball park figure is very difficult to determine.


As PP said, you need to have an Aged Care Assessment completed to determine levels of care and generate approvals for funding with client contributions..


Fees are set by each provider and can vary quite a lot. The client contribution depends on having an assets test completed through Centrelink. If assets are minimal and a full pension applies, they would pay a small amount or no contribution. Asset rich can mean paying quite a substantial amount for services.


Once approvals are in place Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) can provide an entry level service until a Home Care package becomes available. CHSP may be run by local council or local health service, depending on where you live and can be fairly cheap. I think the contribution varies from about $5 to $40 on a sliding scale.


Other ball park figures would be district nursing service of around $110 an hour for RN. A personal carer is probably about half that and around $50 for home care like cleaning, shopping etc. Client contributions on those amounts will vary greatly, depending on assets. Those are just off the top of my head for the area I work in.

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There's a process to go through.




Generally though, the process starts with an ACAS as per Cerridwen. If you google ACAS and the local area, you should be able to find out who does them in their area. The service is free, and assesses people for everything from basic packages right through to residential aged care. (Don't tell your parents that if they're the type to think you can't wait to 'shove them into a home'!)


They will be assessed as to whether they qualify for services, and if they do qualify, they'll fill out a financial assessment, which will determine how much they will contribute.


You don't get to decide yourself that you need the service, as most is heavily subsidised. To give you an example, my mother didn't qualify for residential aged care at 95 - for good reason. Be prepared for some waiting, although both of the ACAS assessments I was involved in were done fairly quickly, as the people were clearly quite old or frail.

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I need to follow this. Dad and mum need help- mum is a fit dynamo but she’s now caring for dad. Doing all the cooking, housework etc but he can’t do any yard work or repairs. And mum hasn’t got those skills or time.

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There's a process to go through.




Generally though, the process starts with an ACAS as per Cerridwen. If you google ACAS and the local area, you should be able to find out who does them in their area. The service is free, and assesses people for everything from basic packages right through to residential aged care. (Don't tell your parents that if they're the type to think you can't wait to 'shove them into a home'!)


They will be assessed as to whether they qualify for services, and if they do qualify, they'll fill out a financial assessment, which will determine how much they will contribute.


You don't get to decide yourself that you need the service, as most is heavily subsidised. To give you an example, my mother didn't qualify for residential aged care at 95 - for good reason. Be prepared for some waiting, although both of the ACAS assessments I was involved in were done fairly quickly, as the people were clearly quite old or frail.



I am not sure about metro Melbourne but regional Vic is a 2 to 3 month wait for non urgent ACAS for people still living in the community. A Home Care Package if eligible, is a 12 month wait.

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I need to follow this. Dad and mum need help- mum is a fit dynamo but she’s now caring for dad. Doing all the cooking, housework etc but he can’t do any yard work or repairs. And mum hasn’t got those skills or time.

 

The sooner you can get a referral to ACAS for your dad the better ( assuming he agrees to one). There can be a lengthy wait for assessments and services.

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I am not sure about metro Melbourne but regional Vic is a 2 to 3 month wait for non urgent ACAS for people still living in the community. A Home Care Package if eligible, is a 12 month wait.

Last I heard it was 18months,I hope it has improved.


All I can say is good luck, trying to navigate aged care support is a nightmare.

Get started as soon as possible.

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Princess Peach

There's a process to go through.




Generally though, the process starts with an ACAS as per Cerridwen. If you google ACAS and the local area, you should be able to find out who does them in their area. The service is free, and assesses people for everything from basic packages right through to residential aged care. (Don't tell your parents that if they're the type to think you can't wait to 'shove them into a home'!)


They will be assessed as to whether they qualify for services, and if they do qualify, they'll fill out a financial assessment, which will determine how much they will contribute.


You don't get to decide yourself that you need the service, as most is heavily subsidised. To give you an example, my mother didn't qualify for residential aged care at 95 - for good reason. Be prepared for some waiting, although both of the ACAS assessments I was involved in were done fairly quickly, as the people were clearly quite old or frail.



I am not sure about metro Melbourne but regional Vic is a 2 to 3 month wait for non urgent ACAS for people still living in the community. A Home Care Package if eligible, is a 12 month wait.

 

At least a 12 month wait - the last stats I read were over 100,000 people were waiting for their packages.

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There's a process to go through.




Generally though, the process starts with an ACAS as per Cerridwen. If you google ACAS and the local area, you should be able to find out who does them in their area. The service is free, and assesses people for everything from basic packages right through to residential aged care. (Don't tell your parents that if they're the type to think you can't wait to 'shove them into a home'!)


They will be assessed as to whether they qualify for services, and if they do qualify, they'll fill out a financial assessment, which will determine how much they will contribute.


You don't get to decide yourself that you need the service, as most is heavily subsidised. To give you an example, my mother didn't qualify for residential aged care at 95 - for good reason. Be prepared for some waiting, although both of the ACAS assessments I was involved in were done fairly quickly, as the people were clearly quite old or frail.



I am not sure about metro Melbourne but regional Vic is a 2 to 3 month wait for non urgent ACAS for people still living in the community. A Home Care Package if eligible, is a 12 month wait.

 

At least a 12 month wait - the last stats I read were over 100,000 people were waiting for their packages.

 

Yes, I should have said a basic package is about a 1 year wait. It can be much longer.

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I generally recommend to clients, unless they are DVA, to self-refer/family refer to My Aged Care. There is a questionnaire to fill in which helps allocate the type of assessment you need. Unless an urgent ACAT is required,, it is generally a regional assessment team who can assist you with linking in to appropriate services and funding bodies, and organise an ACAT if required.

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I generally recommend to clients, unless they are DVA, to self-refer/family refer to My Aged Care. There is a questionnaire to fill in which helps allocate the type of assessment you need. Unless an urgent ACAT is required,, it is generally a regional assessment team who can assist you with linking in to appropriate services and funding bodies, and organise an ACAT if required.

 

Depends where you are.


You say ACAT, I say ACAS lol


In parts of regional Victoria, ACAS is also the regional assessment team.

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Curious around this too with ageing parents. Living separately, divorced amicably many years ago. Dad is 80 and has terminal cancer, is often quite tired these days and sleeping a lot during the day, Mum is late 70’s often seems a bit vague, doesn’t manage general tasks as well as she used to, can’t drive to unfamiliar places anymore. She would say that she’s fine and doesn’t need any help.

What sorts or criteria do they need to meet for the minimum package? How is this assessed?

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Curious around this too with ageing parents. Living separately, divorced amicably many years ago. Dad is 80 and has terminal cancer, is often quite tired these days and sleeping a lot during the day, Mum is late 70’s often seems a bit vague, doesn’t manage general tasks as well as she used to, can’t drive to unfamiliar places anymore. She would say that she’s fine and doesn’t need any help.

What sorts or criteria do they need to meet for the minimum package? How is this assessed?

 


https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/01/my-aged-care-national-screening-and-assessment-form-user-guide_0.pdf



This is for the assessors themselves, so as you can see, it's an extremely comprehensive assessment of someone, although it doesn't necessarily look like that when you're only spending 1.5 or so hours with them while they do it. They do also like a referral or letter from the local doctor (it's not compulsory but it's a bit hard for them otherwise, working in the dark). They usually like to speak to a family member beforehand - I spoke on the phone to her for an hour before one did my MIL's one - that way they've got lots of context. They also seem to prefer (in my limited experience) to have family there - it's handy to be able to roll your eyes in the background as the parent insists they're managing perfectly well, whilst living on cups of tea with Marie biscuits, and tins of soup.


The provision of packages is a disgrace. 20 - 30 years ago, help that was needed was provided. Now it is far more comprehensive, but people can wait so long for the package that they're entitled to, that they deteriorate in the meantime.


In your mother's case I'd be tempted to call her GP and ask for a chat with them, to let them know what you're concerned about. Unless you're her medical POA of course they can't say much to you, but your info to them will be invaluable in perhaps subtly assessing her memory.


If you're talking to your parents about it, present the assessment as an opportunity for them to find out what they're ENTITLED to. The majority (from my own and that of most of my friends) seem to assume they might be 'shoved into a home' (although they're not all as snarky and suspicious as my mother).


I'm wondering if your father has already had one. They are frequently done in hospital with the elderly in order to establish whether they're safe to return home/need further support etc.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I couldn't see if anyone had posted the actual fees?

The basic fees are available here: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/home-care-package-costs-and-fees

Then an income/means tested fee may be on top of that.


Just be aware that the 'per day' is actually 'every day' regardless of whether or not you get any assistance that day.

So you are looking at $150 pf per person as a starting point.


Once you have a home care package, usually you have a provider who works out what the budget is for the year - basically your fees + subsidy, - provider fees.

In theory you say what you want and they organise to fit in with it. In practice - they tell you what they can provide and you fit in with them. The rates for each service will be standard with them.

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