Helping people stay at home for longer
More Home Care packages
Eva is a full pensioner who owns her own home. She lost her husband a few years ago. Because of a bad fall, her care needs have increased. However she would prefer to receive care at home.
Currently, neither of the two available levels of Home Care package matches Eva's care needs. From 2013 the Government will add two additional package levels to better meet the needs of people like Eva.
Eva will have more choice in accessing an aged care provider because there will be 40,000 additional Home Care packages released over the next five years.
She will also have greater control over the type and timing of the services that she receives, through the introduction of consumer directed care.
More care where it is needed
Many older Australians want to access aged care services in their own home, but currently almost one in three older Australians have to wait more than three months for a package.
To address supply shortages and to respond to older Australians' preference for receiving aged care services in the home, the Government's aged care reforms will:
- provide $880.1 million over five years to increase the number of Home Care packages. There will be an additional 40,000 packages over the next five years;
- improve incentives for residential aged care providers to invest in new facilities, including those in regional, rural and remote areas, and provide greater choice and control for recipients of residential aged care, at a cost of $660.3 million;
- expand and streamline basic home support services into a national Home Support program, at a cost of $75.3 million; and
- streamline and expand respite support for carers of older Australians, to complement the expansion in aged care services, at a cost of $54.8 million.
This will allow more Australians to stay at home for longer and provide more and better quality care for those who need residential care.
Projected increase in home care packages
Source: Department of Health and Ageing