About care management
You must provide care management to all care recipients. This includes care recipients who self-manage their Home Care Package.
Care management must comply with the Aged Care Quality Standards.
To provide care management, you must:
- regularly assess the person’s needs, goals and preferences
- prepare and review their Home Care Agreement – including their individualised budget
- prepare and review their care plan
- ensure their care and services align with other supports
- partner with the care recipient and their families or carers about their care
- ensure their care and services are culturally safe
- identify and address risks to their safety, health and wellbeing.
Self-managed care recipients
Some care recipients may choose to be more involved in their care planning by taking an active role in making decisions to manage their package.
Self-management looks different for every individual – they might be more involved in selecting the workers who come to their home or scheduling hours of services.
If you offer this option, ensure that care recipients fully understand what is involved.
You must still meet your responsibilities under the legislation, including:
- providing care management, including reviewing care plans
- overseeing the services your care recipients receive and how they spend their package budget
- conducting police checks on third-party services
- meeting the Aged Care Quality Standards to deliver safe, quality care and services based on their needs, goals and preferences.
You should charge a care management price that is reasonable for the resources involved to oversee the care recipient’s self-management.
Find more information in the Home Care Packages Program Operational Manual.
Charging for care management
Care management charges must be reasonable and justifiable. They are capped at 20% of the Home Care Package level. We monitor that providers are meeting their requirements.
Find out how to charge for these services and comply with price caps.
Home Care Agreements
You must enter into a written Home Care Agreement with a care recipient before you can start providing services to them.
Find out how to prepare a Home Care Agreement and what to include.
Care plans
You must include all the services you provide to a care recipient in their care plan.
A care plan outlines a care recipient’s assessed care needs and how you will meet those needs to help them stay at home.
Find out how to prepare a care plan and what to include.
Ongoing care discussions
You must have ongoing discussions with care recipients about their care needs and goals.
Upgrading Home Care Packages
If a level 1 to 3 care recipients’ aged care needs have changed, you may need to discuss a reassessment and support them to upgrade their package level.
Find out about when and how to upgrade packages.