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Home Care
Nov 24, 2022

Home Care Package funds: what can they be used for?

A Home Care Package is a coordinated package of care and services to help you to live independently in your own home for as long as you can. Learn about what you can use these funds for and how to get started with home care.

A Home Care Package is a coordinated package of care and services to help you to live independently in your own home for as long as you can. A Home Care Package is subsidised by the Australian Government and allows you to work with a home care provider to decide the care and services that best meet your needs.

Before you start the assessment process for a package, you might want to consider in more detail what the package funds can be used for – and also what they can’t be used for.

What can Home Care Package funds be used for?

Your Home Care Package funds should be used to purchase care and services that meet your needs as assessed by a member of the Department of Health’s Aged Care Assessment Team. Once you are allocated a package, the types of care and services you can receive, as outlined in the department’s Your guide to Home Care Package services, include:

Personal services

Assistance with personal activities such as bathing, showering, toileting, dressing and undressing, mobility and communication

Nutrition, hydration, meal preparation and diet

Assistance with preparing meals, including special diets for health, religious, cultural or other reasons, assistance with using eating utensils and assistance with feeding

Continence management

Assistance in using continence aids and appliances such as disposable pads and absorbent aids, commode chairs, bedpans and urinals, catheter and urinary drainage appliances, and enemas

Mobility and dexterity

Providing crutches, quadruped walkers, walking frames, walking sticks, mechanical devices for lifting, bed rails, slide sheets, sheepskins, tri-pillows, pressure-relieving mattresses and assistance using these aids

Nursing, allied health and therapy services

For example, this may include speech therapy, podiatry, occupational or physiotherapy services and other clinical services such as hearing and vision services

Transport and personal assistance

Assistance with shopping, visiting health practitioners and attending social activities

Management of skin integrity

Assistance with bandages, dressings and skin emollients.

A Home Care Package may also be used to fund the use of:

Telehealth

Video conferencing and digital technology (including remote monitoring) to increase access to timely and appropriate care

Assistive technology

This covers devices that assist mobility, communication and personal safety

Aids and equipment

Particularly those that assist a person to perform daily living tasks can be purchased using funds from your package budget. Your Home Care Agreement needs to specify whether it is leased or who owns the item and who is responsible for ongoing maintenance and repair costs.

What can’t Home Care Package funds be used for?

Home Care Package funds cannot be used as a general source of income for items such as (but not limited to):

  • day-to-day bills
  • food
  • mortgage payments
  • rent.

Home Care Package funds also cannot be used to purchase:

  • other types of care funded, or jointly funded, by the Australian Government
  • travel and accommodation
  • entertainment activities, such as club memberships or tickets to sporting events.

How to apply for a Home Care Package

If you or your loved one needs a helping hand at home, the first step is to register with My Aged Care and get an ACAT assessment. This is the Australian Government’s aged care services portal where you can access information and apply for funding.

At IRT, we want to make the process as smooth as possible so we've put together a handy step-by-step guide to help you on your aged care journey.

Check out our handy step-by-step guide

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IRT Home Care

Find out more about IRT Home Care and how we can assist you or your loved one to keep living independently at home. IRT has been providing home care services for more than 30 years, offering support to older Australians in NSW, Qld and the ACT.

Find out more

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