Overview of aged care
The aged care system in Australia offers three levels of subsidised support for people who require living assistance
The traditional view of aged care is residential aged care in a nursing home-type environment. In reality, most people want to remain independence throughout their lives and to stay in control of where and how they live, connected to their family and community. Depending on health and physical wellbeing, as a person ages, some things may become harder to do without assistance. Home support and home care packages may provide the level of support that people need to maintain their independence.
If help at home is not enough to provide the assistance needed to maintain independence, residential aged care may be needed.
The three levels of subsidised support for people who require living assistance are illustrated in the image below. This is what they are currently called:
Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) – provides entry-level services focussed on supporting individuals to undertake tasks of daily living to enable them to be more independent at home and in the community. Services under the program are provided on an ongoing or episodic basis.
Home Care – provides more structured and comprehensive support services in the home.
Residential aged care provides care and accommodation for people who have been assessed as requiring higher levels of care than can be provided in the home. This may include 24-hour nursing care. Residential care is both on a permanent and temporary (respite) basis.
