East Gippsland aged care service providers are working to prepare for Federal Government changes to home care packages.
The federally funded Home Care Package program will change to Support at Home
from July 1.
The programs enable older people to continue living at home, with help ranging from mobility equipment, home nursing visits, cleaning and gardening.
Gippsland Lakes Complete Health (GLCH) supports about 600 people in the community on home care packages.
The community health organisation has been prioritising speaking at community events, to help East Gippsland residents understand
the changes.
GLCH home care package intake coordinator Terry-Anne Gaskin received questions about how to access assessments for support and the level of co-contributions required, when speaking at a Lakes Entrance Rotary Club event.
She said information about the changes were still flowing through from the
Federal Government.
“All of us want to stay as independent as possible, and to remain living in our own home as long as it is safe and appropriate to do so,” Terry-Anne said.
“A home care package is targeted towards people that have moderate to high support needs and without a home care package, may need to enter residential care.
“I feel proud of Gippsland Lakes Complete Health, we walk the talk. We actually deliver what we say we are going to deliver.”
Terry-Anne talked through GLCH’s initial understanding of the Support at Home changes, and what those changes will mean
for clients.
“It’s a complete overhaul. The first stage is the replacement of the Home Care Package program with the new Support at Home program,” she said.
“The primary objective was to create a new program that is more accessible to older people, but financially sustainable from a government funding perspective.
“What’s happened in the past is there was a big backlog of people on the waitlist, as many as 120,000 people on a waitlist. So, the government is working to improve that.”
To be eligible for a home care package, you must be aged 65 years or older or 50 years or older for Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander people.
Lakes Entrance Rotary Club president Bernard Abrecht said if people in the community needed support, or knew of others who needed support, they should seek help from service providers.
“The presentation we received provided an insight into the complexities of the various policies and procedures GLCH, and others, face in implementing the government’s strategy,” he said.
“A further complication to be faced is that new policies are to be introduced by the government on July 1, 2025, to modify processes and client entitlements.
“It is true that the presentation left those attending in awe of the challenges these ladies, and their staff, face in their work.”
The first step in accessing support is to register for the Federal Government’s service portal called My Aged Care, which will organise an assessment.
There are different pathways to accessing support to remain living at home including through the Commonwealth Home Support Program or home care packages.
More information is available on the GLCH website or by phoning the aged care
services team.
