What services can I receive through a Home Care Package?
If you’ve been assessed for a Home Care Package, you will work together with your home care provider to design a package of coordinated care and services best suited for you. This could include a mix of the services mentioned below, depending on your needs and your Home Care Package level. Your provider can also manage your services for you.
Home Care Packages cover a range of different services that fall into three main categories:
Services to keep me well and independent
Services to keep me safe in my home
Services to keep me connected to my community
Services to keep me well and independent
To help you maintain your personal hygiene and grooming standards.
Can include:
- help with bathing, showering, toileting
- help with dressing/undressing
- assistance with getting in and out of bed
- help with washing and drying hair, shaving
- reminders to take your medication
To help you treat and monitor medical conditions at home.
Can include:
- wound care and management
- someone to help you take your medication
- certain medical tests
- general health and other assessments
To help you maintain movement and mobility.
Can include:
- speech therapy
- podiatry
- occupational or physiotherapy services
- other clinical services such as hearing and vision services
To help you eat well.
Can include:
- help with meal preparation (including special diets for health, religious, cultural or other reasons)
- help with using eating utensils
- help with feeding, if necessary
- meal delivery services
What’s not provided
The cost of individual food ingredients in meals that are prepared and delivered.
To help manage particular conditions and maximise your independence at home.
Can include:
- continence advisory services – assessment for, providing, and assisting with continence aids such as disposable pads and absorbent aids, commode chairs, bedpans and urinals
- dementia advisory services
- vision and hearing services
- support for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Services to keep me safe in my home
To help you keep your home clean and liveable.
Can include:
- help with making beds
- help with ironing and laundry
- help with cleaning like dusting, vacuuming, and mopping
- light gardening – weeding, pruning, lawn mowing, minor garden maintenance, clearing debris
To increase or maintain your ability to move safely around your home.
Can include:
- installing easy access taps
- installing grab rails in the bath and/or shower
- providing advice on areas of concern regarding the safety of your home
- providing help to access technical assistance for major home modifications (that are not included in My Aged Care services)
What’s not provided
Home modification services are not provided if the modification does not relate to your care needs.
Aids and equipment to help with mobility, communication, reading, and personal care limitations.
Can include:
- walking aids like crutches, quadruped walkers, walking frames, walking sticks
- mechanical devices for lifting you in and out of bed
- bed rails
- aids like slide sheets, sheepskins, tri-pillows
- pressure-relieving mattresses
What’s not provided
Aids and equipment that are not related to your care needs.
Services to keep me connected to my community
To get you out and about to appointments and community activities.
Can include:
- assistance with shopping, visiting health practitioners, attending social activities
What’s not provided
Travel and accommodation for holidays.
To encourage you to take part in social and community activities that promote and protect your lifestyle, interests, and wellbeing.
Can include:
- arranging for a visitor to make in-home social calls
- providing a companion to accompany you on appointments (e.g. visiting your GP) and outings (e.g. shopping)
- arranging social activities and providing or coordinating transport to social events
- someone to help set up phone and internet communication services to keep in touch with loved ones
- a care worker supporting you in your home for a short period of time (for example, when your carer is away or unavailable)
What’s not provided
Assistance with memberships to particular clubs, tickets to sporting events, or gambling activities.
What else could be included?
Home Care Packages are flexible; there may be other care and services that are suited to your needs. Together with your provider, you will need to work out if a care or service that you need:
- is directly linked to your identified care needs and goals
- will improve your health and wellbeing
- is necessary for you to remain living safely and independently in your home
- can be delivered within your Home Care Package budget, and
- would be considered an acceptable use of government funds.
A Home Care Package should not be used for, and does not replace, care and services that can be accessed through other health programs that you might be eligible for. You should continue to access these if and when you need them, through your GP and hospitals.
I’d like to apply for a Home Care Package – what do I do?
The first step to accessing government-funded aged care services is to check your eligibility for a face-to-face assessment. Find out how to do this on our How to apply for an assessment page.
