It is becoming easier to find services thanks to the internet. One option is to click here. This will enable you to search by area, town or surrounding suburbs for services. You will know that these services choose to stay up to date with developments in community care through their membership of Aged Care NSW. There is also a compete list of Home and Community Care funded services by region at http://www.dadhc.nsw.gov.au/dadhc/Doing+business+with+us/hacc_funded_services.htm

An ACAT assessment helps the government work out which services you may be eligible for as well as working out how well you’re able to cope with daily living activities and for your own care. If you wish to access government-funded services you will probably need an assessment.

There are two broad types of aged care — low level and high level care.

Low level care homes (formerly known as hostels) generally provide accommodation and personal care, such as help with dressing and showering, together with occasional nursing care.

High level care homes (previously known as nursing homes) care for people with a greater degree of frailty, which often needs continuous nursing care.

All aged care homes must provide a specified range of care and services to residents. These requirements vary according to each resident’s care needs. For all residents, services should include such things as:

• staff to provide help at all times, including in emergency situations;
• assistance with daily living activities such as bathing, showering, dressing and mobility;
• assistance with medications;
• meals and refreshments, taking into account special dietary needs;
• basic furnishings including carpets, curtains, chairs, beds and bed linen, bath towels, face washers, soap and toilet paper;
• a laundry service, cleaning services and maintenance of buildings and grounds; and
• social activities.

For residents with high level care needs, the services will also include such things as continence aids, basic medical and pharmaceutical supplies, nursing services and therapy services.

If you require specialised care for dementia, or if you have specific language, cultural or religious needs (for instance, if you want to be in a home where there are other people who speak a particular language or have similar spiritual beliefs), you should ask about that when you visit prospective homes.

The Australian Government has implemented a number of measures to monitor the quality of care and services provided in Australian Government funded aged care homes. All funded homes must meet required accreditation standards and demonstrate continuous improvement regarding the quality of care and services provided to residents.

The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency assesses aged care homes for accreditation and monitors homes to ensure their ongoing compliance with the accreditation standards. An aged care home will be able to provide you with information about its accreditation status. You may also access the Agency’s website at www.accreditation.org.au It may be useful to look at the information provided by the Agency when you look for a suitable aged care home.

The Department of Health and Ageing may impose sanctions on aged care homes that have not met the requirements of the Aged Care Act 1997. In these cases, information is published on the Department’s website at www.health.gov.au.

The value of your former home will not be counted as an asset if, when you enter the aged care home:

• Your spouse or dependent child is living there;
• A carer eligible for an income support payment has lived there for two years; or
• A close relative who is eligible for an income support payment has been living there for at least five years.

If your assets exceed a certain amount when you enter low (hostel) level care or an ‘extra service’ place you may be asked to pay an accommodation bond. Accommodation bonds are like an interest free loan to the facility and by law must be used by the home to improve building standards and the quality and range of aged care services provided to you. The facility is able to keep the interest received from the bond while you live in the facility.

Bond amounts and payments can vary and should be negotiated with the provider. However, you cannot be charged a bond that would leave you with less than a minimum amount of assets that is determined by the Australian Government.

The facility is able to deduct monthly amounts for five years from the bond, called retention amounts, to use toward maintaining and improving your accommodation. The balance of the bond is repaid to you when you leave. The Australian Government sets the maximum amount that the facility can retain.

The Australian Government has made arrangements to help residents of aged care homes who may experience difficulty in paying for their care. Hardship provisions exist to help residents who have genuine difficulty paying fees and charges.

If you can’t afford to pay, these provisions allow your fees and charges to be reduced or waived. In this case, the Government pays a subsidy to the aged care home, so that you can receive the same standard of care as everyone else in Australia’s aged care system, regardless of your capacity to pay.

While some aged care homes specialise in either low level or high level care, many offer both low level and high level care, which allows you to stay in one location even if your care needs increase. This is often referred to as ageing in place. Each aged care home can advise you about the care and services it will provide, and whether you can remain at that home as your care needs change.

To improve the quality of life and care for older people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the Australian Government funds a number of aged care homes run by ethnic community organisations. The Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care program enables aged care homes and ethnic communities to work together to establish and maintain links between residents of aged care homes and their social, cultural and linguistic networks.

Also, clustering brings together residents who share similar cultural, language or religious backgrounds within one aged care home. There are many aged care homes around Australia that provide care on this basis. Other options include multicultural services and cultural, nationality or language-specific services. To find out what’s available in your area, telephone your nearest Commonwealth Carelink Centre on 1800 052 222.

Yes residents can move from one facility to another. For example a person can move from a low level (hostel) to another hostel without need for reassessment by an ACAT member. (Note the resident needs to move to their new facility on the same day that they are discharged from the old facility).

Residents who move to another aged care home - Special arrangements apply for residents who move to another aged care home (‘second home’) within 28 days of leaving a previous home (‘first home’). For Example: If the resident had paid an accommodation bond to the first home, then the maximum amount of accommodation bond which the resident can be charged in the second home is the accommodation bond balance from the first home. The accommodation bond balance is the amount of the original accommodation bond paid to the first service, minus retention amounts and any other agreed deductions, i.e. interest payable on the late payment of the original accommodation bond.

The Australian Government recognises that most people would like to stay in their own home and, if they are able to, there are services available to help. If you are fairly independent and need some help, this may be best served by Home and Community Care Services. If you have a strong wish to remain at home and are able to do so, for example if you have support or a carer at home and require fairly complex care or a range of services, Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) and Extended Aged Care in the Home, (EACH) may be more accessible and appropriate. An Aged Care Assessment and approval is required to access CACPs, EACH and residential aged care.

It is possible in some aged care homes for you to receive either low-level or high-level care at the same home. This means you don't need to move as a result of changing care needs, and is called 'ageing in place'.

When choosing a retirement village several factors should be considered. The area you choose may be where you have lived for many years, close to family and friends, public transport, shopping centres or near your favourite restaurants and recreational activities. It is important to keep these in mind when selecting a retirement village.

Book an appointment with the village representative – e.g. salesperson or Village Manager – to view the village and accommodation units available. It is a good idea to have a checklist with you about certain accommodation, facilities or services that are important to you.

Once you have made the decision to enter the retirement village, you may be asked to pay a holding deposit (usually $5,000), which will secure your interest in the accommodation unit of your choice. This deposit must be held in a trust account with the operator’s solicitor, the public trustee or a real estate agent and you must be issued with a trust account receipt. The deposit will form part of the total purchase price. The deposit is fully refundable if you change your mind about entering the retirement village.

You must also be provided with a Public Information Document (commonly referred to as the ‘PID’) from the operator. This is a statutory document that contains information about the type of accommodation, financial arrangements, facilities and services and resident’s rights and responsibilities. The Public Information Document forms an integral part of the Residence Contract, which is a contractual agreement between you and operator of the village detailing your rights and responsibilities and the rights and responsibilities of the operator.

You will be required to sign an Application Form and the Public Information Document. The Public Information Document is also signed by the scheme operator on the day that they accept your application to reside. Once your application has been accepted, you are entitled to a 14 day cooling off period, which allows you the opportunity to consult with your solicitor or financial advisor and make certain that you have made the right decision. It is strongly recommended that you do consult with such experts. Remember, you can change your mind about moving to the retirement village during this period.

Once you made the final decision to move, your solicitor will liaise with the operator’s legal representatives and start the process for settlement – much like when you purchased your existing property.

Most retirement villages are resident funded villages. This means that residents contribute to the costs associated with the day-to-day and ongoing management and maintenance of the village. This is an effective way of ensuring that facilities and services, that would normally be out of reach of most people, are available.

The general services charge is a fee that covers the running costs of the village e.g. day-to-day village management and administration, general village maintenance, insurance, security costs and gardening. The general services charge also includes a contribution to a mandatory fund called the Maintenance Reserve Fund, which is a fund that is used for major maintenance and repair of the retirement village’s capital items – e.g. repairs to the village lawn mower. Residents are solely responsible for payments into this fund and the amount required to be paid by residents is determined by an independent quantity surveyor.

Personal services charges are optional services supplied or made available to residents and, usually, are those services, such as laundry, meals and cleaning, which are provided to residents residing in a serviced apartment. Most villages will also provide these services to residents residing in an independent living unit, on a user pays basis.

The cost of services is reviewed with the introduction of each financial year. Residents must be allowed to consult with the operator of the village with respect to the introduction of fees.

Once you leave the retirement village, you will be required to continue to pay the general services charges for a period of ninety (90) days after you leave. After this period, you and the operator share in the costs of these fees in the same manner that you share the costs of sale. If you receive personal services as part of your contract, you will be required to continue to pay these charges for twenty-eight (28) days after you vacate your accommodation unit.

The cost of your accommodation unit is determinable on many different factors, including location of the village, size and type of accommodation, services and facilities available and market factors.

You are required to pay an ingoing contribution, which is the amount of money you are required to pay the operator of the village in return for a right to reside, which allows you to reside in the accommodation unit of your choice at the retirement village of your choice and enjoy the services and facilities available.

Yes, providing you meet the eligibility criteria for the specific program/service you are wishing to access.