Aged care placement - the assessment

Common questions and concerns

While each family situation has a different set of requirements, there are a number of standard questions that seem to be asked by our family clients. We hope the answers provided here will help you in your aged care placement activities.

What is an aged care assessment?

An aged care assessment is required for admission to a government subsidised aged care home. The assessment provides basic information about a persons current care needs. Referrals for an aged care assessment can be made by anyone.

An assessment by an ACAT should be done every 12 months to make sure that a persons needs havent changed this way you can increase services as and when you require them.

What is an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT)?

ACATS help older people and their carers work out what kind of care will best meet their needs when they are no longer able to manage at home without assistance. ACATs provide information on suitable care options and can help arrange access or referral to appropriate residential or community care.

The Australian Government provides funds to the State and Territory Governments, specifically to operate and manage the ACATs. The States and Territories also provide funding to the ACATs. ACATs also assess and approve older people for Australian Government subsidised aged care, such as residential aged care, Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs), or flexible care, such as Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH), dementia specific EACH packages or Transition Care.

The team will explain the assessment results to you and discuss what they believe is the best type of care to meet your family needs.

How much does an aged care assessment cost?

There is no cost to the family to have an aged care assessment completed.

What is involved in the assessment process?

The steps below will give you an idea of what happens during the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT or ACAS in Victoria) assessment process.

A doctor, community nurse, or social worker will refer you to an ACAT. Or you can set up an assessment yourself by contacting an ACAT in your local area.

The ACAT will then make an appointment to see you and come to your home, or if youre in hospital theyll come to the hospital. Please note: we advise to have a carer, friend or family member present at the meeting with the ACAT representative.

At the meeting the ACAT member/s will ask you questions about your daily living activities and the sort of help you need. Theyll also want to talk about your general state of health and specific health conditions. This will help them work out how much and what sort of help you need. They may also talk to your doctor about your medical history, but only if you agree.

Your ACAT member/s will then talk to you about whether they think you need a place in an aged care home, or more support so you can keep living at home.

At the end, theyll explain their decisions and may give you a copy of their completed assessment (if not they will post this to you).

This assessment tells you what type of services youre eligible and approved for, as well as leaving you with information about all the services that may be available in your local area.

You should keep a copy of the assessment and any approval that has been granted for you to access services.