Stretch your home care budget further
If you’re worried about how far your funding will go, our free coordination service can help you create a tailored plan, to inform your aged care choices. A low-fee or self-managed Home Care Package may be right for you. Talk to us to find out!
Understanding home care
Support for a safe and comfortable home life
In Australia, people over the age of 65 can access government assistance to stay independent at home for longer if they need help, through Home Care Packages. There are four levels of Home Care Packages and you can learn more about them in the FAQ section below. Home Care Packages provide funds to cover services including:
Personal care
Nursing & clinical care
Transport & excursions
Equipment & home modifications
Allied health for continued wellbeing
Help around the home
Social & emotional support
Meals & shopping trips
Self-managed or provider-managed, it's your choice
Self-managed packages can reduce some fees, and leave you with more funds for care and support. Talk with us to weigh the factors and decide what’s right for you.
Provider-managed Home Care Packages
Working with a provider-managed Home Care Package, you still stay in control, making all decisions with your care manager's support. The approved provider will manage all administration and care coordination, doing all the heavy lifting for you. Not all approved providers are the same. It's important to find a good match for you. Some offer lower management fees than others.
- Assigning a care manager to set up your budget and monitor and review your care plan
- Appointing quality carers to support you, with qualifications and background checks
- Managing your schedule, package funds and booking appointments, including cover if your carer is unavailable
- Handling any complaints or feedback
My Care Path aged care coordinators offer independent advice and coordination services that are free. Self-managed or provider-managed, we will help identify the best choices to meet your needs. Call us today.
Self-managed Home Care Packages
If you are confident managing people and have the time, you can self-manage your Home Care Package, to reduce fees, freeing up more funds for care and support. It is important to note that you will still need to place your package with an approved provider of your choice, but you will then manage the care yourself.
- Managing your Home Care Package budget and your care plan
- Interviewing and selecting your own support workers
- Planning your care schedule
- Arranging cover if your carer needs time off for illness or holidays
- Working directly with your carer to create a trusted relationship
My Care Path aged care coordinators offer independent advice and coordination services that are free. Self-managed or provider-managed, we will help identify the best choices to meet your needs. Call us today.
Private home care
Home care with no waiting lists
If you need services immediately, you can privately fund home care, without an aged care assessment and with no waiting list. Not all providers offer private services and fees can vary greatly making the choices feel overwhelming. We can help you select and access the right private home care services immediately.
NDIS Home Care
Home care for NDIS recipients
Our care coordinators are ready to help select and access tailored home care for participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. With you every step of the way, we will help you make confident choices to assure a happy and independent life at home.
How we work
We're with you every step, to arrange the right care for you
1. Getting to know you
We start with a conversation to understand your care needs, family, culture, lifestyle, location, timeline and budget.
2. Understanding care
We will explain the ‘My Aged Care’ system, how much you can expect to pay and how to access the best care options for you.
3. Comparing options
We qualify options in your customised report, organise facility tours and help you meet providers, so you can decide what feels right.
4. Ongoing Support
We will support you with admission and Centrelink paperwork and check in once your care has commenced.
Frequently asked questions
My Care Path’s business model was developed to ensure that even those with limited financial means can access our placement service to navigate the complex aged care system. Through our tried and trusted network of care providers, they cover the cost of our services. which remain independent and committed to meeting your unique needs. Our fees are the same for all providers and never impact your Home Care Package’s care budget or the fees you pay to the provider. In fact, the Aged Care Act prevents any provider from passing on a placement fee to a care recipient, or from increasing their fees to compensate for such a fee.
Seeking aged care for the first time, or indeed at any time, can be emotional and challenging for the whole family. We can offer additional support by bringing our experience, expertise and compassion to guide family meetings where everyone comes together to listen and understand all the options and choices. We can provide a Residentselect report fee estimator that compares up to three providers and a range of payment options associated with each. We will work with any situation or circumstance where you may need additional support, or if you wish to look at providers who are outside our care network. These providers have not agreed to pay for your placement service.and are not offered under our free placement service. Please get in touch with us to discuss your needs and we will be happy to support you in every way that we can.
My Care Path’s nationwide network of trusted providers is more than 900 strong and growing by the day. It includes large, small, private and not-for-profit providers, who help by covering the costs of our coordination service, allowing us to bring high quality care to our whole community, Australia-wide. Importantly, Australian laws prevent the providers from passing any costs associated with our placement fees back onto the care recipient. This allows us to offer our high-quality placement service 100% free of charge. Our network is constantly growing, and in some instances, it may be a customer’s unique situation that connects us to a new provider of quality care that is right for them.
My Aged Care is the government portal where you can apply for subsidised aged care. Contact our team at My Care Path for support in accessing and navigating My Aged Care at any point through your journey.
Home care is when carers attend and assist a person in their own home, while residential care is live-in accommodation with care and amenities on-site. Typically, residential care is for people with higher care needs, or who are experiencing some form of isolation. The government supports both home care and residential aged care. As many Australians prefer to remain in their own homes, government funding for home care is increasing to support this preference. As care needs and other influencing factors change, so too may your care choices.
Home Care Packages are federal funds that are allocated to older Australians to support them living longer and better home. The care is to safely maintain and manage aspects of independent life in their own homes, without having to do everything themselves or rely heavily on their family members and friends.There are four levels of support, assigned based on an assessment done by Aged Care Assessment team (ACAT) or Aged Care Assessment service if you are in Victoria.
There can be significant differences in the amount of care you receive from each package level, depending on your choice of provider. We can help you make an informed selection, but as an indication, hours of care associated with each level could range from approximately:
Level 1
4–8 hours/fortnight
Level 2
7–12 hours/fortnight
Level 3
14–24 hours/fortnight
Level 4
24–36 hours/fortnight
It is definitely worth the effort to compare providers prior to making a final decision.
If you are over 65 years of age, an Australian resident, and require some help at home, you can apply to be assessed for a Home Care Package. If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, you can apply for a Home Care Package from the age of 50.
You do not need a referral from a Doctor, GP or professional to apply for an assessment. A carer, friend or loved one can submit a referral on your behalf or you can contact My Care Path and a friendly member of our team will do this for you.
You have several choices, from government supported Home Care Packages or immediately accessible privately funded home care. No matter your needs, our coordination service will help you identify and access the right support and provider from our My Care Path network for you.
You will need to be assessed by the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) to determine the level of support you are eligible to receive. Once approved for a Home Care Package, you will then be placed on a national waiting list for allocation of Home Care Package funds. This process can take between 6-18 months to receive services.
My Care Path welcomes your enquiries before or after your assessment as we can explain and support you to navigate the process. We’ll help you decide between self-managed, provider-managed, or privately funded care based on your personal needs and preferences. Our aged care coordination service is free. Get in touch with us at any time and we can guide you through the whole process.
It can take between 6-18 months to receive your funding, so it’s best to start the process as early as you can. The online application takes around 20 minutes to complete and you will book in for an assessment. You may need to wait around 3-6 weeks for the assessment, which can take around an hour. It may take up to 2 weeks before you receive an approval letter and then you will join the waitlist.
To access government funded Aged Care Packages you will need to waitlist, however if you wish to self-fund your services there is no need to wait. Get in touch with us to learn about the range of bespoke ways we can support you to shortlist, tailor, select and access your care with no waiting time.
You may also choose to privately fund home care while you waitlist for your Home Care Package. While delaying or waiting for Home Care Packages, some people can rely heavily on family and friends or struggle alone. In the worst instances this can cause undue strain on relationships or accelerate the need for residential aged care.
You may reduce the administration fee through managing your own care, which involves administering your care plan, managing your budget and schedule and hiring, scheduling and managing your carers. This will suit some better than others and to help make the decision we recommend you talk with us.
You are not alone
Our free and independent home care coordination service can help access the care that is right for you.