Costs & Eligibility

Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme is an entry-level program, open to seniors over 65 years of age, or over 50 years for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, who need:

• Low level support, such as showering a few times a week or fortnightly housework, on a short term or ongoing basis
• High level support for a short time, such as nursing care while recovering from surgery or because your regular carer is sick

Costs

The Australian Government subsidies CHSP services, however your service provider may ask you to contribute towards the cost of your care. The service provider will ask you for information about your finances to determine what your out-of-pocket costs will be. If you would prefer not to provide this information, you don’t have to, but you might be asked to pay more as a result. If you are suffering from financial hardship let your provider know so they can take that into consideration when setting your fees.

Generally, you will also be asked to pay for consumables, such as continence aids, used in the course of your care.

Client Contributions and Fees Policy (Commonwealth Home Support Program)

1. Policy

As outlined in the national Client Contribution Framework, Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) clients who can afford to contribute to the costs of their package of care or support are required to make financial contributions to that package.

The contributions made are based on a set of principles:

Principles:

The following principles must be applied when determining the amount of contribution to be made by a client:

• All clients who can afford to make contributions to their package of care should do so.
• Clients shall be advised of the need to make contributions when they make enquiries about services, and prior to the commencement of service.
• Clients shall be advised exactly what their contribution will be. If the contribution is revised, the client must be advised of the revised contribution prior to the change.
• In the case of financial hardship, clients ability to contribute shall be assessed and either reduced or waived depending on the particular circumstances. The method of assessing the contribution will be determined in conjunction with the client using Ozcare’s financial assessment tools.
• Where a client indicates that an extended period of financial hardship is reducing their capacity to contribute, this capacity will be assessed and for a defined period, the clients contribution shall either be maintained, reduced or waived depending on the particular circumstances.
• Contributions made by clients will only subsidise the costs of the service – contributions made will not meet the full costs of that particular service. The revenue raised by contributions shall offset the ongoing operational costs of Ozcare.

Please Note: This Policy does not apply to clients on the Assistance with Care and Housing (‘ACH’) program.

2. Relevant Legislation/Standards

Department of Social Services – CHSP Client Contribution Framework.

Read more about the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.

Home Care Packages

Home Care Packages are open to seniors over 65 years of age, or over 50 years for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, who need:

• Ongoing services
• Multiple services, or one service at a high frequency
• High level support, such as complex nursing care

Packages

Depending on your needs, you will be approved for one of four home care package levels. If you are unable to find an available package at the right level, it’s possible to take a lower level package and upgrade to the higher level package when one becomes available.

The package levels are:

• Home Care Level 1
  Supports people with basic care needs
• Home Care Level 2
  Supports people with low level care needs
• Home Care Level 3
  Supports people with intermediate care needs
• Home Care Level 4
  Supports people with high care needs

Costs

The Australian Government subsidies Home Care Package services, however you may be asked to contribute to the cost of your care.

Basic Daily Fee

Clients on a home care package pay a basic daily fee of up to 17.5% of the single basic Age Pension, which is adjusted in March and September each year. Ozcare does not charge the basic daily fee for new clients after 27 February 2017.

Income-Tested Care Fee

Depending on your income, you may also be asked to pay an income-tested care fee. To determine whether you are required to pay this additional fee, you will be asked to do the following:

• If you are on an Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Allowance, or Mobility Allowance, call the Department of Human Services on 1800 227 475 to confirm whether you are exempt from the income-tested care fee or your fees can be determined without submitting a form
• If you are a veteran or widow/er, call the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on 1800 555 254 to confirm whether you are exempt from the income-tested care fee or your fees can be determined without submitting a form
• For all others, submit a Home Care Package Calculation of your cost of care form (SA 456) to the Department of Human Services

You can choose not to confirm your eligibility or submit a form, however you may be asked to contribute the maximum amount if you don’t.

The Department of Human Services or Department of Veterans’ Affairs will review your form and send you a letter to advise you of the maximum amount that your service provider can ask you to pay. If you do not agree with the decision, you can ask the department to review it. The letter is valid for 120 days (4 months).

You can estimate your fees using the home care fee estimator on the My Aged Care website.

Read more about home care packages.

Veterans’ Services – Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)

DVA provides Australian veterans and widows/widowers with a range of services to help you stay at home for as long as possible.

Veterans’ Home Care

Veterans’ Home Care (VHC) is designed to help you continue living at home by providing a small amount of practical help including domestic assistance, personal care, safety-related home and garden maintenance, and respite care.

If you are a Gold or White Card holder living at home and have been assessed as needing home care assistance by a VHC Assessment Agency, you may be eligible for support through VHC.

Read more on the DVA website about Veterans’ Home Care.

Community Nursing

Community nursing provides nursing and personal care services in your home for Gold or White Card holders.

If you are a Gold Card holder with high level personal care needs, identified by a Local Medical Officer, DVA will pay for your clinical nursing services. If you are a White Card holder, the condition requiring nursing must also be an accepted disability.

Read more on the DVA website about Community Nursing.

Costs

Contact the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to discuss any costs associated with DVA services.

Privately Funded Home Care

All of our services are available through private funding, where you meet the cost of the service yourself.

Privately funded services can be used together with government funded services and in some cases can be claimed back from your private health insurer.