To receive a Home Care Package you must first be assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team.
ACATs are made up of medical, nursing and allied health professionals. Their assessments are usually conducted in your home and are used for people who may need care through Home Care Packages, residential aged care, transition care, or short-term restorative care.
From 1 July 2024, ACATs will use the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) to assess the eligibility of older people for government-subsidised in-home care.
The change is part of the move to a Single Assessment System (SAS).
Also as part of the SAS, later this year the Department of Health and Aged Care will change the way assessments are done.
A new Single Assessment System workforce will replace ACATs, Regional Assessment Services, which assess older people for entry-level support delivered by the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), and Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) assessors, who asses residential aged care funding.
Your assessment is the time to speak up and to say what help you really want and need.
To receiving Government Subsidized home care call My Aged Care or visit My Aged Care’s website to see if you’re eligible. This can be accessed here.
If you are eligible, then you can either arrange the next steps for your assessment via the call centre or apply online here by following the steps through the My Aged Care website.
The assessment is a comprehensive process that is focused on getting the right solution for you, whether your needs be physical, medical, psychological, cultural, social or restorative.
Working through your goals and preferences will help you make informed choices about the services and assistance you would like to receive. Two sets of ears are always handier than one so it is a good idea to have someone else with you.
There are no right or wrong answers, so just be as honest as possible. Some questions you could consider are:
- What is important to me (if this includes things like living in a clean house, or doing the gardening, of having clean windows then mention this.)
- What do I most enjoy doing
- What makes my life enjoyable and meaningful
- What’s good right now and what’s not?
- What’s missing? What would I have if I could choose anything?
- What sort of things might help to improve my day to day life?
- What support do I need to remain safe and well?
- Where and when do I want that support to be available?
- How do I want to be supported and by whom?
And:
- How much could I be asked to contribute to my care costs?
The Assessor will make a time to come to your home and talk to you about how you're managing with day to day life. They will also explain how the assessment works and can give you information about home care services in your area.
Annie Donaldson
agedcare101 Registered Nurse and Carer
The Assessor might ask your permission to talk to your doctor about your medical history before meeting with you. All information will be treated confidentially.
Once you have been approved for a package and received the results you will be placed on the national prioritization system in order to receive that approved package level.
