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Types of care
Community care
Most older Australians prefer to stay in their own homes, so there are a number of programs available to help out with daily living activities that may have become harder for you to manage on your own. This is called ‘community care’. The Home and Community Care program (HACC) (more information) and Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) (more information) are two such programs, with services specifically designed for older Australians who would qualify for at least low-level care in an aged care home. CACP provides a package of services where as, HACC may, provide one or more services.
HACC services aims to meet basic needs to maintain your independence at home and in the community , and they include community nursing, domestic assistance, personal care, meals on wheels, home modification and maintenance, transport, and community-based respite care (more information).Two other programs Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) (more information) and Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia (EACH D) (more information) also provide services for high-level care needs at home. Eligibility for CACPs, EACH and EACH D is assessed by Aged Care Assessment Teams(ACATs or ACAS in Victoria) (more information).
Read more: About help staying at home
Aged care homes
If you can no longer live at home because of ageing, illness or disability, there are publicly-funded places in aged care homes that you may be able to access. This is called ‘residential aged care’.
There are two types of residential aged care in Australia – high-level and low-level care. High-level care provides nursing care when required, meals, laundry, cleaning and personal care, while low-level care gives you assistance with meals, laundry and personal care, except when required. To be eligible for either of these aged care places you need to be assessed by an ACAT.
Read more: About help with aged care homes
Common questions on this topic:
- How can I tell which of these programs are best suited to my needs? Is there someone who can help me?
- How can I find out about programs to help me care for someone?
- What assistance is available as people get older?
See more common questions on this topic | See all common questions
