The program

The Australian Government’s Home Care Packages Program is designed for older persons who require coordinated services to live independently in their own home as long as they can.   Younger persons (ie under 65) are not excluded, however, where they have access to other programs whose design suits younger persons.  See Disability and the NDIS.

The  program provides a subsidy to an approved home care provider (“HCP”) towards a package of care, services and case management to meet individual needs.  To access such a package, an individual requires a free assessment by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT, or ACAS in Victoria), contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

A member of an ACAT team then contacts potential candidates to discuss their current situation and work out eligibility to receive government-subsidised aged care services.

The subsidy

Funding is assessed for at four levels ranging from approximately $10,000 to $50,000 per year and individuals are prioritised for care based on your assessed need:

• Level 1 – basic care needs
• Level 2 – low-level care needs
• Level 3 – intermediate care needs
• Level 4 – high-level care needs

The subsidy is paid to the selected HCP.  The subsidy contributes to the total cost of goods, services and care delivery.  It is expected that individuals will contribute to the cost of your care where your personal circumstances allow.

The HCP is an organisation approved to provide home care under the Aged Care Act 1997, and retain responsibilities for care planning, management, budgeting, expenditure authorisations and policies around use of the funding.

Self-direction

The homecare package is delivered on a Consumer Directed Care (“CDC”) basis.  CDC packages give individuals greater say and control over the design and delivery of services provided to them and their carers in their home by empowering individuals to choose how their package monies are spent and choose their own carers, goods, services and HCP.

Previously HCP organisations were “block funded” for a group of individuals, and the care recipients had no say, no funding visibility, no visibility on the the on their carers, goods and services.  Generally, HCP organisations would staff the care of individuals with their own staff, as organisational policy.

Now the HCP must provide a “Case Manager” who acts independently of the organisation they work for, and ensures the package monies are spent according to the needs and desires of their client (not their organisation).

Notwithstanding CDC principals, HCP organisations retain a major governance role and say in the spending of package monies to ensure: expenditure is only allowable items under the Home Care Package Guidelines; safety of the client; appropriate experience of carers; security around carers, police checks, insurances or service organisations, etc.

Management

All HCP’s must financially account for all services to a Consumer against a care plan and budget.  The plan is developed and approved by the care recipient.  Processes and systems require costing of every unit of service, monthly report of income and expenditures and the balance of funds.

Capital Guardians provide a financial trust management service through a cloud based system that holds an individualised budgets, receives all the consumers income, receives all invoices from home care service providers, manages governance (approvals), financial reporting and invoice payment.

Capital Guardians is an independently audited service for home care package recipients that takes the financial administration away from the HCP to the extent, they do not require booking keeping services or a finance department at all, allowing the money that would have been spent here, to rather lower administrative costs and spend more monies on more direct care services to their clients.

Administratively, The HCP only does their own accounting and invoices, similar to a professional services company for services performed.