My Aged Care was introduced on 1 July 2013 and assists older people, their families and carers to access aged care information and service.
My Aged Care provides:
- information on aged care;
- support for consumers to find Commonwealth funded aged care services in their local area;
- online fee estimators for pricing of home care packages and residential care; and
- referrals to assessment services and service providers
Changes to My Aged Care 2014/2015 include:
From 1 July 2015 My Aged Care will be enhanced to become the key entry point to Australia’s aged care system, which will make it easier for older people, their families and carers to access the aged care services that best meet their needs. This will be done by:
- All aged care homesare required to publish their maximum accommodation prices and descriptive information on the My Aged Care website, their own website and in other relevant materials they provide to prospective residents and their families. This information is for new residents entering an aged care home on or after 1 July 2014.
- The introduction of a central client record to document aged care information, hosted on the My Aged Care system, that will be accessible to the older person, their nominated representative, and service providers: having a central client record will prevent older people, their families and carers from having to repeat their story to different service providers
- The introduction of the Regional Assessment Service which will be responsible for assessing the home support needs of older people. This new service will provide timely support for locating and accessing suitable services based on the needs and preferences of older people
- Assessments will be carried out face to face; this standardised approach to assessment will help ensure that the allocation of services is based on the needs of older people, and not limited by the scope of services that a particular service provider may offer
- Assessments will focus on assisting older people to continue living independently in the community
The My Aged Care Regional Assessment Service – Tender Process
The new assessment processes being introduced through My Aged Care will involve the establishment of the Regional Assessment Service (RAS), which will ensure that assessment is undertaken independent of any particular service provider and their service offering. The holistic assessment undertaken by the RAS will consider client needs and preferences and support timely referral to services.
The Regional Assessment Service will also develop goal oriented, person-centred client support plans and provide short term management of vulnerable clients to assist them to access services. These activities will assist clients to return to a level of functionality and independence so they can continue living independently in the community.
The Department of Social Services is undertaking an open approach to market from 24 October 2014 for organisations interested in delivering aged care assessment services to people requiring low intensity, basic support at home. For more information regarding the tender process, please see the Request for Tender for the My Aged Care Regional Assessment Service page.
Visit My Aged Care or call 1800 200 422 for more information about aged care support and services.
*Information taken from the Queenland Government Aged Care webpage