3. What can a Government Subsidised Home Care Package pay for?

a)     cleaning;

b)     personal laundry services, including laundering of care recipient’s clothing and bedding that can be machine-washed, and ironing;

c)     arranging for dry-cleaning of care recipient’s clothing and bedding that cannot be machine-washed;

d)     light gardening for safe access to the home;

e)     medication management;

f)      rehabilitative support, or helping to access rehabilitative support, to meet a professionally determined therapeutic need;

g)     emotional support including ongoing support in adjusting to a lifestyle involving increased dependency and assistance for the care recipient and carer, if appropriate;

h)     support for care recipients with cognitive impairment, including individual therapy, activities and access to specific programs designed to prevent or manage a particular condition or behaviour, enhance quality of life and provide ongoing support;

i)       providing 24-hour on-call access to emergency assistance including access to an emergency call system if the care recipient is assessed as requiring it;

j)      transport and personal assistance to help the care recipient shop, visit health practitioners or attend social activities;

k)     respite care;

l)       home maintenance, reasonably required to maintain the home and garden in a condition of functional safety and provide an adequate level of security such as cleaning gutters; See Specified Exclusion list to get an idea of modifications that cannot be paid by your HCP;

m)    modifications to the home, such as easy access taps, shower hose or bath rails i.e. small modifications; See Specified Exclusion list below to get an idea of modifications that cannot be paid by your HCP.

n)     assisting the care recipient, and the homeowner if the home owner is not the care recipient, to access technical advice on major home modifications;

o)     advising the care recipient on areas of concern in their home that pose safety risks and ways to mitigate the risks;

p)     arranging social activities and providing or coordinating transport to social functions, entertainment activities and other out-of-home services;

q)     assistance to access support services to maintain personal affairs.

a)     nursing, allied health and therapy services such as speech therapy, podiatry, occupational or physiotherapy services;

b)     other clinical services such as hearing and vision services.
Note: Your Home Care Package cannot pay for hearing aids or glasses.

ongoing assessment and planning undertaken on at least a monthly basis to ensure that the care recipient receives the care and services they need. This includes:

·       regularly assessing the care recipient’s needs, goals and preferences

·       reviewing the care recipient’s Home Care Agreement and Care Plan

·       ensuring the care recipient’s care and services are aligned with other supports

·       partnering with the care recipient and the care recipient’s representatives about the care recipient’s care and services

·       ensuring that the care recipient’s care and services are culturally safe

·      identifying and addressing risks to the care recipient’s safety, health and wellbeing.

Another way to think of this is that your HCP cannot pay for general living expenses that are unrelated to your assessed needs and goals in your Care Plan.

·       Food (except as part of enteral feeding requirements or items listed under food for special medical purposes as per the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 2.9.5). Further information on food is below under Meal services

·       Home insurance

·       Rates

·       Water, sewage, gas and electricity costs

·       Private transport related costs including vehicle registration, vehicle repairs, vehicle insurance and petrol

·       Local transit costs of public bus, ferry or train fares

·       Funeral plans / insurance costs

·       Pet care and associated costs such as pet food; registration; taxidermy, cremation

·       Internet and telephone costs, exceptions include:

o   Care recipients who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (as identified in a care recipient’s ACAT assessment) can use HCP funds for the ongoing monthly charges to ensure connection with service providers

o   Care recipients who require the internet or landline to support delivery of medication management, remote monitoring service or delivery of an included service on the phone can use HCP funds to set-up telecommunications connections (e.g., to get internet connected)

·       Beauty therapy (e.g., manicures) and hairdressing

·       Cost of entertainment activities, such as club memberships and tickets to sporting events

·       Travel and accommodation for holidays

·       Supplies to participate in any activity, e.g. gardening or craft

·       Using HCP funds to pay for solicitors or accountants for maintaining care recipients’ personal affairs

·       Gym or pool memberships/access costs when not prescribed for aged-related functional decline and monitored by health professional operating within their scope of practice

·       Mortgage payments

·       Rent

·       Permanent residential care (subsidised or private) and residential respite (subsidised)

·       Heating and cooling costs (installation and repairs)

·       Whitegoods and electrical appliances (except items designed specifically for frailty such as a tipping kettle)

·       Household furniture and furnishings:

o   lounge suites and recliners which do not support a care recipient’s mobility, dexterity and functional care needs and goals

o   Other general household furniture such as coffee tables, wardrobes, and bookshelves.

o   Massage chairs when not prescribed by treating medical practitioner and/or allied health professional

o   General mattress and frame for bed (exceptions for pressure relieving mattress or mattress/frame for an electrical adjustable bed or hospital bed)

·       Replacement/maintenance/servicing/cleaning of:

o   Water tanks

o   Solar panels

o   Fencing

o   Roofs

o   Heating and cooling or hot water systems

o   Swimming pools

·       Home modifications or capital items that are not related to the care recipient’s ageing-related care needs, for example:

o   Windows, roofs, pergolas, sunrooms, decking

o   Home modifications that don’t support ageing safely e.g., non-accessible bathroom and kitchen modifications; non-standard fittings in accessible bathroom modifications (e.g., mosaic tiles)

o   Home modifications requiring development applications

o   Aesthetic modifications of any kind

o   Repainting the home

o   Major plumbing

o   Emptying of septic tank; remedying sewage surcharge (matter for water company/insurer)

o   Major electrical work, e.g., rewiring house

o   Replacement of entire floor and floor coverings throughout the home unless safe passage for mobility equipment required or slip hazard reduction required, as recommended by a health professional for care recipients at risk of falls

o   Replacement of foundation e.g., concrete/cement slab

o   Significant changes to the floorplan of the home, such as adding a new bathroom or extension

·       Extensive gardening services such as:

o   Planting and maintaining crops, natives and ornamental plants

o   The installation and/or maintenance of raised garden beds

o   Compost heaps

o   Watering systems

o   Water features and rock gardens

o   Landscaping

o   Tree removal

o   Removal of garden beds

o   Removal of shrubbery (unless preventing safe access and egress)

·       Includes income tested care fees, basic daily fees and additional fees

·       Dentures, dentistry and dental surgery

·       Prescription glasses or contact lenses

·       Prostheses (e.g., artificial limb)

·       Spectacles

·       Hearing aids available under the Hearing Services Program (HSP). Contact the Hearing Service Program (HSP) for guidance on hearing aid replacement and delegate approval for non-standard hearing aids. Exception if care recipient is not a pension concession card holder as HCP may cover like for like of typical hearing aid covered by HSP in this case only.

·       Continence aids if a participant in the Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS) program

·       Diagnostic imaging

·       Natural therapies, including:

o   Alexander technique

o   Aromatherapy

o   Bowen therapy

o   Buteyko

o   Feldenkrais

o   Homeopathy

o   Iridology

o   Kinesiology

o   Naturopathy

o   Pilates (except sessions supervised by an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist)

o   Reflexology

o   Rolfing

o   Shiatsu

o   Tai chi (except sessions supervised by a Chinese Medicine Practitioner, exercise physiologist or physiotherapist)

o   Western herbalism

o   Yoga (except sessions supervised by an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist)

·       Payment for informal care, eg family, friends – a Carer’s Payments is available to fund the support of family and friends.

·       Section 16.1 of the HCP Program Manual specifies more information about what ageing related programs can and cannot be accessed while receiving a HCP.

·       Medications, vitamins and supplements (as well as items not covered by the PBS such as off-indication prescriptions, medicines not endorsed for listing by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) or medicines where the manufacturer has chosen not to list the product on the PBS

·       Consultation/tests/surgery with medical practitioner (GPs and specialists) – The only exception to this is a private appointment (i.e. not covered by MBS) with a GP to meet evidence requirements for the dementia and cognition supplement and oxygen and enteral feeding supplements. Please note Daughterly Care provides free assessment a your home for he cognition supplement.

·       Hospital costs

·       Ambulance cover

·       Private health insurance premiums

·       Cash payments or gift vouchers/cards, including online vouchers and coupons