2015

On 1 July 2015, significant changes were implemented to the My Aged Care assessment process.

A major shift towards consumer-directed care (CDC) was introduced, which meant that consumers could select their service providers and have greater influence on the types of services they received, such as personal care, home care, or respite.

Eligibility and assessment for all levels of aged care, including low-level services and residential aged care, required a My Aged Care contact telephone assessment. Resthaven was one of 13 organisations in Australia chosen by the government to handle the assessment process via a ‘Regional Assessment Service’ (RAS). A key government requirement was that the business operations of the RAS remained separate to Resthaven’s direct line of work.

Regarding high-level home care services for those with complex needs, newly created Home Care Packages (HCP) were introduced under the CDC model, replacing Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) and Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH). For entry-level support services for those with low-level care needs, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) replaced the Home and Community Care, Day Therapy and National Respite for Carers programs.

Resthaven’s business model was already attuned to CDC requirements, having been involved in a successful trial of CDC since 2009. As such, this had already become the basis of the delivered care services.