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The Aged Care Process

• How do I find out if my parent needs care?
• How can my parent apply for an assessment?
• How will my parent be assessed?
• How do they decide what care my parent will get?
• What happens after my parent is told they need care?
• Who pays for my parent's care?
• How do we choose the right rest home?
• What happens after we have chosen a rest home?
• Your parent is now ready to enter the rest home.

Home Care and Carer Support

My mother wants to keep living independently in her home, but she needs assistance. Who can help her?

What sort of changes to the home can make life safer for older people?

My mother’s carer needs a break. What are her options for temporary care? Can my mother get government assistance to cover the cost of replacement care?

My mother wants to keep living independently in her home, but she needs assistance. Who can help her?

If your mother needs more help around the home, she needs to see an assessor. Arrange an appointment with the assessor. They will discuss what help she needs at home. Your mother may get home care, day care, or have home modifications installed.

Click here to find out what home care services are available

Click here to find out about day care and home modifications

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What home care services are available?

A range of home care services are available, including:

• assistance with personal hygiene, such as bathing, showering, oral hygiene and hair washing
• help with dressing, undressing, and grooming
• help with household tasks, such as cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and preparation of food
• nursing care
• medication management
• supervision of people with epilepsy, diabetes, dementia and mental health issues

Click here for more information about home care

What is day care?

Day care is personal care during the day for the elderly by trained care workers. An activities programme of exercise and hobbies is generally included. Rest homes, retirement villages and stand-alone day care facilities offer day care programmes.

What sort of changes to the home can make life safer for older people?

A number of changes to the home can make life safer for older people.

Here are some common difficulties and solutions:

Installing a rail will make it easier for your parent to climb up the steps to the front door. Wheelchair users can use a wheelchair lift or have a ramp installed.

Reducing clutter and trip hazards and improving lighting will make moving around the home easier.

Fitting an extra bannister rail or installing a stair lift will make getting up and down stairs easier.

If your parent has trouble getting to the front door when someone calls, they can install a door-entry intercom. Alternatively, they could put in a key safe that can only be opened by someone who knows the code.

Installing a bath lift makes getting into the bath easier.  Alternatively, your parent could get a bath that has a door, so they can get in and out without having to climb over the side.

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My mother’s carer needs a break. Can my mother get government assistance to cover the cost of replacement care? What are her options for replacement care?

Your mother may be able to get a subsidy to help cover the cost of replacement care while her carer takes a break. To apply, the carer needs to arrange an appointment with the assessor. The needs of your parent and their carer will be assessed. The carer will be given a number of days off per year, and can choose when to take them.

Options for replacement care:

• someone to replace the carer at home
• day care
• care in someone else’s home
• short-term residential care, such as a rest home

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