Just as Dorothy uttered those famous words in The Wizard of Oz: “There’s no place like home,” and had she been talking about aged care, she could have added: “It could also be much cheaper.”

While the Australian Government subsidises a range of aged care services in Australia, if personal circumstances allow, it is expected you’ll contribute towards the cost of your residential aged care if you can afford to do so. For people on an Aged Pension, a percentage is paid to the residential home for care.

As such, residential care fees are dependent upon an individual’s financial position, including ownership of the family home. However, Home Care Packages are not subject to full means testing, but contributions are related to your annual income and assets (part-pension or self-funded retirees can be asked to contribute between $5,000 to $10,000 per annum).

To ascertain your likely home care fees, please click here to read another informative blog article from Oxley Home Care.

Depending on an individual’s needs, a Home Care Package provides a co-ordinated package of services tailored to meet specific care needs to help the person stay in their own home and also provide choice in the way care and services are provided in the home.

Services that may be provided  in a Home Care Package include:

• support services – such as help with washing and ironing, house cleaning, gardening, basic home maintenance, home modifications related to your care needs, and transport to help you with shopping, visiting your doctor or attending social activities
• personal care – such as help with showering or bathing, dressing and mobility
• nursing, allied health and other clinical services – hearing services, vision services, podiatry
• care coordination and case management.

Since July 1, 2015 all Home Care Packages are provided on a Consumer Directed Care (CDC) basis, which according to www.myagedcare.gov.au means:

• Consumers get more say in the care and services accessed, how it is delivered and who delivers it
• Consumers will have conversations about their needs and goals
• Consumers will work in partnership with the service provider to develop the care plan
• Consumers agree to the level of involvement in managing the care package
• Consumers will have a greater understanding about how the package is funded and how those funds are spent through an individualised budget and monthly income and expense statement
• The service provider will monitor and provide the consumer with ongoing formal reviews to ensure the package still meets all needs.

CDC allows the consumer and the carer more power to influence the design and delivery of the services which are received. It also allows a greater degree of choice in what services are delivered, as well as where and when they are delivered.

Home Care Packages are essentially subsidised funding provided by the Government, so it is worthwhile to use this calculator to estimate your fee.

About Oxley Home Care

Oxley Home Care, established in 2006, is a family owned Sydney company and an approved government provider for aged care services who specialises in Dementia Care.

For the last decade, Oxley Home Care’s staff have been providing throughout the Sydney metropolitan region Private Care, Home Care, Veterans Home Care, Nursing and Allied Health to enable people – regardless of their age – to live a quality life in their own home.

Oxley Home Care is an Approved Provider of Home Care Packages funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and holds an allocation of Home Care Packages. These packages are designed to provide assistance to the elderly to remain living at home.

If you’d like further information or an obligation free visit from Oxley Home Care, please feel free to call us on 1300 993 591.