Better health and ageing for all Australians

Consumer Directed Care

Consumer Directed Care (CDC) in Australian Government Funded Community Aged Care

The Australian Government is funding Consumer Directed Care (CDC) in Australian Government community aged care programs. Under the initiative, the Government is funding selected community aged care providers to deliver innovative service models, which will provide care recipients and their carers with greater control over the design and delivery of the care and services they receive.

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The initiative is delivered in two components, one focusing on CDC in community packaged care, (Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs), Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH), and Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia (EACHD), and the second focusing on CDC approaches to respite.

Consumer Directed Packaged Care

On 12 April 2010 the then Prime Minister, the Minister for Health and Ageing and the then Minister for Ageing jointly announced the availability of the first Consumer Directed Care (CDC) packages for frail older Australians, giving older people a greater say and more control over the design and the delivery of community care services. In 2010-11, 500 CDC packages were made available to frail older Australians and an additional 500 CDC packages have been allocated in 2011-12.

CDC places are only allocated to existing Approved Providers as defined under the Aged Care Act 1997, who have been successful in an Invitation to Apply process for the allocation of CDC places. In addition, CDC places are only allocated to Providers who are approved (or have sought approval) to provide flexible care. Applications for flexible care status are available from the Department of Health and Ageing’s website at http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-approvedp-index.htm.

Further information

Further information about CDC packages is available at:

Consumer Directed Respite Care (CDRC)

In 2010-11, the Australian Government provided funding to 16 selected Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres across Australia to deliver CDRC packages under the National Respite for Carers Program (NRCP). In total there were 200 CDRC packages allocated across Australia.

In 2011-12 the Australian Government is funding an additional 200 CDRC packages across Australia. Existing Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres were invited to apply for CDRC places on 12 March 2011 for allocation through an Invitation To Apply process. As a result of this process, the Australian Government now funds a total of 31 Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres to deliver CDRC packages under NRCP.

Further information

Further information about CDRC is available at:

Evaluation of Consumer Directed Care

CDC places are currently funded until 30 June 2012. The future of any further CDC funding and places is yet to be decided. Future Government policy decisions will take into account the evaluation of the Consumer Directed Care initiative, currently being undertaken by KPMG, on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, together with the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission Report Caring for Older Australians.

Information on the evaluation is available at Consumer Directed Care Evaluation. Top of page