The My Aged Care assessment

Almost everything subsidised runs through this one free assessment, and it is far less daunting than it sounds. It is a conversation, usually at home, about what is getting hard and what would help.

A little preparation makes it go better — mostly because it is easy to understate things on the day.

How to book it

Ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. You can call on someone else's behalf, with them in the room or with their okay. They will ask some questions and then arrange for an assessor to visit.

There is no cost, and agreeing to an assessment commits no one to anything.

What to have ready

Their Medicare card, a sense of what a normal day looks like and where it goes wrong — the shower, the stairs, the shopping, the nights — and any medical context that affects daily life, in plain terms.

If you can, be there. It is the single best thing you can do: people play down how much they are struggling, especially in front of a stranger, and someone who sees the daily reality can fill the gaps kindly.

The thing people get wrong

They describe a good day. The assessment should reflect the hard days, because that is what the support is for — so it is fair, not disloyal, to say plainly what is not working.

Afterwards you get an outcome and, if eligible, either services or a place in the queue. It takes weeks, sometimes months, which is exactly why starting today matters.

What happens after the assessment

You get a decision in writing. If you are approved, you are either offered services through the entry-level programme or, for a package, given an approved level and a place in the queue while one is assigned.

This is the point people are surprised by: approval is not the same as help starting. For a package especially, there is a wait between "approved" and "funded" — which is the reason to have some private help lined up for the gap.

If things change later

The assessment is a snapshot, not a life sentence. If someone gets worse — a fall, a hospital stay, a new diagnosis — you can ask for a reassessment rather than struggling on with a level that no longer fits.

Ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and say what has changed. A review is a normal request, not a favour.

What AskFam does and does not do

AskFam works out what you need and points you at services that already exist. It does not employ anyone, does not arrange the work, and takes no fee or commission — from you or from them.

It also has not checked anybody. Where you see a business listed, that is a public listing, not a recommendation. Where somebody offers on a job you posted, that is them describing themselves, in their own words. Ask for what matters to you, and take your time about it.