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Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH)
The Extended Aged Care at Home(EACH) program provides services to meet your high care needs through an individually tailored package to assist you to remain living in your own home for as long as possible, if this is what you prefer.
- How can EACH help me?
- Who is eligible?
- How much does it cost?
- Rights and responsibilities
- Standards of care
- Quality Reporting
- Do you have a complaint?
How can EACH help me?
An EACH package is highly flexible and includes qualified nursing input. The services that may be provided as part of an EACH package include:- care by an allied health professional such as a physiotherapist or podiatrist
- personal care
- domestic assistance
- in-home respite
- transport
- social support
- home help, and
- assistance with continence management (more information).
Who is eligible?
To receive an EACH package an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT or ACAS in Victoria) (more information) must assess you as needing high-level care at home. Information on ACATS is available from Doctors, Hospitals and Community Centres. For information on aged care call 1800 200 422.Read more: About being assessed
Next step: Aged Care Assessment Team Finder
How much does it cost?
ACAT assessments are free of charge but in most cases, you will be charged a fee toward the cost of your package. You should agree on the fee to be charged for care services with your service provider. If you are on the basic pension, you cannot be asked to pay more than 17.5% of that pension. If you have higher income, you may be asked to pay more than that (but no more than 50% of that higher income). If you cannot pay the fee, you will not be denied a service that you need. The amount charged forms part of an agreement between you and the service provider.Read more: About how much Extended Aged Care at Home costs
Rights and responsibilities
Community care service providers are expected to comply with obligations under laws such as the Aged Care Act 1997. Under these laws you have the right to be treated respectfully and be informed and consulted about your care.Read more: About rights and responsibilities
Standards of care
The Australian Government sets standards to ensure you receive quality care. For example, community care standards make sure that you receive a service that meets your individual needs and that you have access to complaints procedures if you need them.Read more: About standards of care
Quality Reporting
Services that provide EACH packages are required to take part in Quality Reporting. It checks that services have systems and processes in place to meet the care standards that are put in place by government legislation.Read more: About Quality Reporting
Do you have a complaint?
If you have any concerns about the care being provided, it’s often best to raise your concerns, in the first instance, with the service provider. However, if you’re unable to resolve the issue or prefer not to complain directly to the service provider, the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme is a free service that seeks to resolve your complaints about your health, safety and/or welfare – and it’s available to your relatives, guardians or representatives as well.Read more: About how to make a complaint
Common questions on this topic:
- If there are no Extended Aged Care at Home services available, or it doesn't suit me, what else can I do?
- Who provides Extended Aged Care at Home services?
- How long do Extended Aged Care at Home services go for?
See more common questions on this topic | See all common questions