Government help for seniors living at home

THE Australian government introduced My Aged Care on 1 July 2013 to assist senior Australians, their families and carers to access information about aged care via the My Aged Care website and contact centre.

Home Care Packages are provided by the government via registration with My Aged Care.

They support Australians to live at home for as long as possible making a substantial difference not only to their lives but also to those of their families and carers as well as the broader community.

Shellie McCormack, community aged care case manager at GenU said, “There are still people over 65 and their families who are not aware of the provision of support through HCP enabling older people to live at home for as long as they can.”

HCP covers a range of ways of helping people manage at home such as personal care needs, gardening, household maintenance, social activities, driving to appointments, shopping and food services.

Ms McCormack points out ‘family home’ simply means where an older person lives, be it with a family member, in a retirement village or even a caravan park.

To qualify for a government funded HCP, community members must register with My Aged Care for assessment by the Aged Care Assessment Service.

Once the assessment is completed each applicant who qualifies is placed on a wait list.

As the government utilises budgeted funds for aged care support the wait for an HCP can be up to 12 months.

The rollout of 10,000 new HCP flagged by the government in December began in January.

The additional packages were announced in the government’s December 18 mid-year economic statement, which included $553 million worth of aged care funding.

GenU, a not-for-profit organisation providing support and services to people in the areas of disability, aged care and employment, is holding an information session on navigating the HCP minefield on Tuesday, 19 March.

“Every single day I promise you I meet people who don’t know about home care packages,” Ms McCormack said,

“My job is to make people happy to stay in their home for as long as they can.”

GenU information session is on Tuesday, 19 March at 118-120 Armstrong Street South, Ballarat from 10.30am to 11.30am.

Morning tea and light refreshments will be provided. The session is free of charge to people over 65 and their families.

To attend register by Friday, 15 March by calling 1300 558 368 or email [email protected]