How to access My Aged Care - step by step
If you find you are needing some support or services at home, the Australian government has subsidised services you may be eligible to use. Since 2016, all retirees who want to access aged care services need to register through My Aged Care to access subsidised services in the home or through a residential aged care facility.
The process can be daunting from the outside, but for most of you just following the steps below will be enough for you to navigate My Aged Care and get the services you need.
Step 1: Register for My Aged Care
Visit the My Aged Care website and click on Start your assessment.
The buttons below will link you directly to the My Aged Care website if you want to get more information first, or you can click on Start your assessment to go directly to the My Aged Care assessment page. Or, you can click on these links - My Aged Care or Apply for an assessment online
The online assessment determines your eligibility for aged care services by checking you are
over the aged of 65, living in Australia
need some form or support to remain living at home or in a facility.
Section A of the form asks you about a range of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) tasks, and if you can perform these:
independently
with some help, or
completely unable to perform the activities.
Examples of the ADLs including walking, standing, using transport, conducting housework, preparing meals, eating meals, taking medication.
*notice how this section does not ask about pain or any medical conditions, these are asked later in the assessment but if you do not show you need help with at least one ADL you will be found ineligible.
Section B asks for your personal details and contact details, including details of any carers who are able to be contacted. Add anyone you want to be present at the assessments, and people you trust such as family members who can contact My Aged Care on your behalf to follow up any issues.
Step 2: Complete Triage (by phone)
After being found eligible for an assessment, you will be contact by the local Single Assessment Service to be triaged based on how urgently they need to visit you for your assessment.
Assessments used to be conducted by the Regional Assessment Services and Aged Care Assessment Teams, but since December 2024, are now conducted by one organisation who works on behalf of My Aged Care.
*Be alert for calls claiming to be from My Aged Care or from the assessment services asking for money, personal details, or bank details. If you are unsure, ask for the reference number, hang up, and confirm with My Aged Care
The Triage delegate will ask a range of questions that were already asked during the screening stage, including the following:
Are you currently an admitted in-patient in a hospital
What are the key circumstances triggering you making contact
How longs have you experienced this circumstance?
Are you currently receiving any aged care services?
They may repeat some of the screening questions, such as the Activity of Daily Living questions, and questions about how long you have been experiencing issues.
They may also ask questions about your general memory, social isolation, pain, falls, or risks around the home.
At the end of the triage call, they will confirm if you will have an in-home assessment (either clinical or non-clinical), and your priority with an expected timeframe for the assessment.
Step 3: Complete an in-home assessment
From December 2024, the RAS and ACAT teams were replaced by a Single Assessment service, which is a private company contracted by My Aged Care to conduct the assessments.
*There is only one company contracted for each location, look up the company conducting assessments in your area to ensure you are not approached by scammers or other agents who are not contracted by My Aged Care.
The assessment will ask you more in-depth questions about your living situation, and the day-to-day issues you may be having.
The assessments cover the following domains:
Carer support and social isolation
Medical issues and medication
General daily function
Physical health and frailty
Social health and connection
Cognition, behaviour, and mental health
Home and personal safety
After completing the assessment, the assessor will build a support plan based on the identified needs, and recommend services and a level of funding.
Step 4: Receive assessment outcome
While the assessor may indicate the outcome of your assessment, behind the scenes your outcome is sent to the local Assessment Delegate, who reviews your assessment and sends you a letter with the official outcome.
You may receive one or more of the following outcomes:
You may be found ineligible for services
(until June 2025) be eligible for Commonwealth Home Support Services, or Home Care Package funding
(after June 2025), be found eligible for a level of Support at Home funding, and approved for a list of services
Be eligible for Residential Respite funding
Be eligible for permanent Residential funding
Your letter will also be uploaded to your My Health Record. The outcome letter will be followed by a number of additional letters until you receive a letter with an official start date of your services, this is the letter you need to progress to the next step.
Step 5: Calculate out of pocket expenses
Each of the three aged care programs have income assessments and potentially out of pocket fees. You should calculate your out of pocket costs before starting care, as in some situations it would be better to go privately instead.
Commonwealth Home Support services each have a client contribution fee you pay for each service, regardless of income. For example, if the contribution fee is $15 for domestic assistance you receive once a fortnight, you will be billed $15 each fortnight.
Home Care Packages are charged according to your income. If you have been approved for a package, check with Centrelink to conduct your income assessment (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sa456) or visit your local Centrelink branch to complete the assessment to find out your expected income assessment fee. You may be charged a daily care fee, but most providers waive this fee.
Residential care (permanent and respite) have set fees too. Check the My Aged Care section for more details - https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/aged-care-home-costs-and-fees
The upcoming Support at Home will have an income assessment fee for some services, with clinical service not having a client contribution, while independence services will vary between 5%-50% and everyday services costing between 17.5%-80% of the full fee being paid by the client.
To estimate your Support at Home fees, try out our Support at Home Cost of Care calculator.
Step 6: Find services
Once you receive your activation letter confirming the date your services start, you can start searching for a local CHSP or HCP provider, or contact a Residential Care home for permanent or respite care.
To search form CHSP or HCP providers, the safest method is to use the My Aged Care service finder, enter your post code and type of services and choose some of the providers to contact on the list.
https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/find-a-provider/
Using this option guarantees you are only working with authorised providers.
Other options you can use include using Google Maps or Bing Maps, or private sites such as the Aged Care Guide (bear in mind these may include non-authorised providers).
Choose some alternatives to contact, and find out their fees, quality, complaints processes, and flexibility to choose a provider that best matches your personal needs. Once you choose one you sign an agreement to start services.
Step 7: Start services
Once you have signed an agreement with a provider, the next step is to develop a care plan to work out the best services for your needs.
If you have chosen a provider that uses a Care Manager, they will develop a care plan based on the type and frequency of services you need and work out a budget to ensure your funding can cover all your services. The care manager will then organise a schedule of services and recruit staff to conduct the services.
If you have chosen to self-manage your home care package, then you will organise the costs and invoicing process with the provider so you know how much each service will cost and how staff will get paid (and how to purchase items). Once this is agreed upon, you can recruit staff yourself and manage their schedules to conduct your services.
Step 8: Reviews and reassessments
As your needs change, you might fund that your current services, or funding are no longer providing you with the independence and health you need. Some people may never need to change their services, but if you find you need to make changes you are allowed to request a review or reassessment.
A review is where you make minor changes to your care plan, such as changing services. For example, you may decide you need more transport services and less cleaning services, or no longer need one of the clinical services. You can review your plan with your care manager, or self-manage by changing your staff or routines.
If your plan is not providing enough services, or there has been a significant change in your health or circumstances you can contact the assessment services to conduct a reassessment.
The following are examples of when to consider requesting a reassessment:
having a significant or repeated falls
having a partner pass away
becoming socially isolated, or losing contact with friends, family, or the community
if someone who performed a lot of informal support can no longer do this
experiencing memory or cognitive decline
losing or surrendering your driver’s licence (or partner losing licence), or
current services have exhausted your budget and are not covering your needs.
Your care manager can lodge a reassessment request for you directly to the assessment team, or you can contact My Aged Care and request a reassessment.
If you are found eligible to be reassessed, an assessor will visit you and re-conduct the assessment and decide if you require more funding and services.