CHSP, or a Home Care Package?

These are the two main ways help at home gets subsidised for an older person, and the difference trips everybody up. Both are being drawn into the new Support at Home program, but the distinction is still the useful way to think about it.

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme

Entry-level, and where most people should start. It funds single, ongoing services — cleaning, mowing, meals, transport, a bit of personal care — usually one or two at a time, and it is quicker to get onto than a package.

Right for someone who needs a hand with a few specific things rather than a coordinated plan.

A Home Care Package

More than single services: a pooled budget and a coordinated arrangement for someone who needs ongoing help across several parts of daily life. It is means-tested, it comes in levels, and there is a wait — often a long one.

Right for someone whose needs have grown past the odd service into wanting things joined up.

The honest answer for most people

Do not try to pick before the assessment — it decides what you are eligible for anyway. Ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422, describe what is getting hard, and let the assessment sort it. Plenty of people start on the support programme and move to a package as needs grow.

The one mistake to avoid is waiting. The package waitlist runs to months, so if there is any chance someone will need it, the assessment is worth starting now.

Can you be on both?

Not doubled up on the same thing, but the two do join up. Plenty of people start on the entry-level support programme for a service or two, then move onto a package as needs grow — and you can stay on the programme while you wait for a package to be assigned.

What you cannot do is have both fund the same support at the same time. The assessment sorts out which pays for what.

Which is quicker to get onto?

The support programme, usually by a wide margin — it is built for single services and moves in weeks. A package is a bigger, means-tested arrangement with a national queue, and the higher levels can take many months.

So a common and sensible pattern is to get a service started through the programme now, with the package application in the queue behind it.

What AskFam does and does not do

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