FAQ – Home Care
St Luke’s Care provides Home Care Packages throughout the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
From the CBD to Vaucluse and down to Little Bay, our home care team can visit you in your home.
Please contact us on (02) 9356 0305 or email enquiries@slc.org.au for further details.
Firstly, you will need to contact My Aged Care’s contact centre to arrange for an assessment. They will start by asking for some details about your situation and register you in the My Aged Care system.
From this, they will arrange for a member of the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) to contact you to arrange an assessment at your home. This assessment is funded by the Australian Government and you will not be charged.
Please contact My Aged Care for further information in organising an assessment.
Call 1800 200 422 or visit www.myagedcare.gov.au.
The Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) will contact you to arrange an assessment to gauge your care needs. You may like to ask a family member, friend or carer to be present during your assessment.
With your approval, your doctor may tell the assessment team member about your medical history. The assessment team will ask you a number of questions during the interview which are designed to help them work out the best care for you.
The My Aged Care contact centre, and subsequently the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), will assess your needs and be able to provide you with any additional information you might need. Prior to meeting with them, it may be helpful to have a think about what areas you would like help with, such as showering and shopping.
They will establish what package of care you could be approved for. These range from Home Care Package Level 1 (minimal intervention) to Level 4 (higher and complex needs), through to respite or residential care. You will receive confirmation of the approved level of care in the post shortly after your assessment and then await further confirmation of when the funds for this package will be assigned to you.
Assessment by the members of your Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) is the key to you receiving an Australian Government subsidy for the cost of your aged care. They will discuss with you whether you need community help to continue living at home, or if your needs would be better met in an aged care home.
At the end of the assessment, they will explain which level of care they believe would best suit your needs, which will be confirmed in writing. If you have been approved, you will be placed on My Aged Care’s national waiting list for Home Care Packages. Once you reach the top of the waiting list, you will be advised by mail that you have been assigned a package.
Simply contact St Luke’s Care with your reference code supplied in their letter so that we can then start planning your care with us.
There is no waiting time to access Private Home Care. Contact St Luke’s Care Home and Community Services, and we will access your needs and provide you with the right care to help you. The cost of this care is fully payable by you.
While St Luke’s Care Home and Community Services does not have a waiting list, My Aged Care has their own national waiting list for Home Care Packages. This means that you may have to wait for a funding package at your assessed level to become available before you can start receiving Government funded care. As soon as you are assigned a package by My Aged Care, you can contact St Luke’s Home and Community Services and we will begin organising your personalised care plan.
For those on a Home Care Package, the government allocates a fixed amount to your budget. There may also be a fee you are required to contribute called the income-tested care fee. This fee may differ based on the results of an income assessment by the Department of Human Services.
Fees for Private Home Care are agreed at the commencement of the service. The fee needs to be paid to St Luke’s Care Home and Community Services each month, not directly to the carer. To make things simpler, payment by bank direct debit is arranged.
Yes, this can be arranged according to program guidelines.
For those on a Home Care Package, the number of hours of help you will receive a week is dependent on the budget allocated to you, and the contributions you make. Those on level 4 packages usually receive up to 12 hours per week, where as those on level 2 packages usually have funding for four hours per week.
With Private Home Care, the number of hours is entirely up to you.
We will do everything we can to fit in with what is convenient for you and also strive to maintain the same, consistent carers from week to week, so there is minimal ‘chopping and changing’ of times and familiar faces.
We employ over 60 of our own carers, providing a wide range of males and females of varying ages so that we can do our best to accommodate any preferences you may have.
Our carers are appropriately trained, receive ongoing education and have security checks undertaken prior to and during employment.
You will also be allocated a dedicated Case Manager who will have regular contact with you to ensure that your changing needs are always met.
St Luke’s Care Home and Community Services can provide help in a number of areas, such as personal care, transport, medication management, shopping, gardening, home maintenance, housework, companionship and social outings.
We also specialise in a range of allied health services, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, podiatry and occupational therapy, as well as nursing care, all of which can be provided to you directly in your home.
Your package funds can be used for these services where applicable, thus making the help even more accessible.
At St Luke’s Care Home and Community Services we offer home based flexible respite programs for those who are caring for someone who has been diagnosed with dementia or is frail.
We can provide one-to-one care on a weekly basis to provide the carer with respite. This can be in the form of in-home or community access, or a combination of both.
General enquiries