My Aged Care

My Aged Care is the starting point to access government funded aged care services. This page contains general information about aged care services and is aimed at family members and friends caring for a person aged 65 years and over (or 50 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders).

The Australian Government has established My Aged Care as a ‘one stop shop’ for information on aged care services in Australia.

For more specific information about aged care services and what may be available for the person you care for, contact My Aged Care at www.myagedcare.gov.au or on 1800 200 422 from Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 8.00pm or on Saturday from 10.00am to 2.00pm.

There are two different programmes that support older people to continue living at home:

• The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) can assist people aged 65 years and over with basic support such as cleaning, showering, shopping, meals, transport and home maintenance.
• A Home Care Package (HCP) is a more intensive, long-term package of aged care services to help people aged 65 years and over with higher care needs. These packages are ‘Consumer Directed’, meaning that you and the person you care for have a say in what is included in the package and how support is delivered.

If you are caring for someone who is nearing the end of their life, there are many different types of aged care services that can give you the extra support at home that you may need during this difficult time. Examples include nursing care, help around the house and counselling.

Transition care is for older people who have been in hospital and need support to recover and make a decision about the best place to live in the longer term. The Transitional Aged Care Program offers 6-12 weeks of therapy provided at home or in another facility. The person you care for will need to be assessed and approved as eligible by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) while they are still in hospital.

If the needs of the person you care for can no longer be met through home care services, residential aged care may be worth considering.

Residential aged care facilities (often called ‘aged care homes’) offer both short stay support (called ‘residential respite’) and longer term or permanent support. Staff can help the person you care for with day-to-day tasks (e.g. cleaning, cooking, laundry), personal care (e.g. dressing, grooming, going to the toilet) and 24-hour nursing care (e.g. wound care, catheter care).

Respite care (also known as ‘short-term care’) is a form of support for you and the person you care for. It gives you the opportunity to take a break from the caring role while the person you care for continues to receive the support they need. Respite care may be given informally by family, friends or neighbours, or by formal respite services.

Respite can help carers to continue caring for longer by giving them time to attend to their own health and wellbeing, and spend time with other family members and friends.

Respite care can be arranged for a few hours, a few days or even for longer periods, depending on your needs, the needs of the person you care for, your eligibility and what services are available in your area. It can happen in the home of the person you care for or at facilities such as an overnight respite cottage, a day centre or residential care facility.

Respite that is planned in advance can be accessed through My Aged Care. In an emergency, you can access emergency respite by contacting the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.

There are services that provide specialised care for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years or older, and their carers. It’s important to find aged care services that respect your culture as well as meet your care needs. My Aged Care can connect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to an Indigenous interpreting service to provide aged care information in a person’s preferred language.

If you’re an older person from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, or you’re caring for an older person from a CALD background, there are aged care services specifically for you. If you speak a language other than English, you can call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 for support to talk to My Aged Care or with your aged care provider about your services.

My Aged Care can help you access aged care information in other languages. There are also printable brochures, posters and spoken information in other languages to help you get started with My Aged Care.

Older people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity should be able to access aged care services that are responsive and respectful of their care needs and consider their history and any experiences of discrimination.