Article posted:Feb 4, 2011
Category: Home and Community Care
What is Home Care?
Home Care is the idea of providing services which are common at a residential aged care facility, such as meal preparation, house work or health care to the individual home. This means that if you (or someone in your life) feels the need for aged care services but would like to stay in their own home as long as possible, then Home Care can be a good compromise. There are two types of home care CACP (Community Aged Care Packages) and EACH (Extended Aged Care at Home). The EACH package includes more ‘high care’ services, such as nurse care and transportation (see below for more details).Whilst the CACP package provides more ‘low care’ services, such as food preparation and housework (see below for more details). Before you can be placed into either of the packages, you will need to have an Aged Care Assessment Team assessment (ACAT) which in most cases will be free
If you are assessed into the CACP category, Home Care could provide the following services at the home when needed.
CACP services:
- Housework and laundry
- gardening and/or social activities
- medication
- transport
- dressing
- personal hygiene
- food preparation
EACH services include:
- Registered nurse care
- Allied health care
- Personal care
- Transport to appointments
- Social support
- Assistance with oxygen and/or enteral feeding
Please note that if you have been placed into the EACH category and are thinking of moving into residential aged care at a later date, then it would be likely that you would need a high level of care at that time.
Home Care in Canberra
You can search for Home Care Canberra
Home Care is a new service in the aged care industry, but can be found in all Canberra regions.
Useful Links
- Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
- Search for Home Care facilities in Canberra and the ACT
Additional Information
Private Providers and Not-for-Profit Organisations
Private providers who are not affiliated with the government EACH and CACP programs are also available, these providers do however charge commercial rates. There may also be charities and not-for-profit organisations in your area who provide Home Care services and thus with a charitable concession.
Government Programs
The EACH and CACP packages are regulated and partially funded by the Government.
If you are placed into a CACP or EACH package then a fee of no more than 17.5% of the individual’s income will be charged, if the individual is on the maximum basic pension rate. For those who earn a higher income, they may be asked to pay additional fees but that cannot exceed more than 50% of their income.
Where can I get an ACAT (Aged Care Assessment Team) assessment?
ACATs can be searched for at the Australian Government’s Department for Health and Ageing.
You can search by state and suburb or post code.
What are the costs? Government versus Private Providers
The ACAT/ACAS assessments are at no cost.
