A person’s priority level for the Support at Home program is worked out during an aged care needs assessment. People with more urgent needs are prioritised for access, in line with the Aged Care Act 2024. Read how priority categories for Support at Home are determined.
Tools supporting an aged care assessor
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recommended a new single, consistent assessment to improve the quality and consistency of assessment outcomes. In response the Australian Government introduced the Single Assessment System and the Integrated Assessment Tool.
Read how aged care assessors use the Integrated Assessment Tool to complete an aged care needs assessment.
Allocating a Support at Home place
After an older person is allocated a Support at Home classification level, they need to be allocated a place in the aged care system. Some older people will be prioritised for access, depending on certain factors.
The Support at Home Priority System is a new way of determining how older people are prioritised once they have been approved for the Support at Home program. Once an older person is approved for Support at Home, they will be placed in the Priority System and set as ‘seeking services’.
Based on the older person’s assessment, the Integrated Assessment Tool assigns a priority category to the person. They will be assigned to a priority category, either:
- urgent
- high
- medium
- standard.
The amount of time an older person may wait before funding is allocated will depend on the priority category they are placed in. The Aged Care Rules 2025 (the Rules) set out the target wait times to receive funding for each priority category. These are:
| Urgent | Target wait time is within 1 month |
|---|---|
| High | The target wait time for high should be 6 times shorter than medium and 8 times shorter than standard. |
| Medium | The target wait for medium should be 6 times longer than high. If the wait time for high is 5 weeks, the medium wait time is 30 weeks. |
| Standard | The target wait for standard should be 8 times longer than high. If the wait time for high is 5 weeks, the standard wait time is 40 weeks. |
Estimated wait times are updated regularly on the My Aged Care website.
How priority categories are assigned
Once an older person’s assessment and classification level is approved, the Integrated Assessment Tool calculates their priority category.
During their assessment, the assessor will collect information to record whether the person:
- lives alone
- identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- has an assessed cognitive impairment
- is experiencing homelessness or is at risk of homelessness
- has waited more than 6 months from initial assessment referral and lives in a regional or remote area categorized under MMM5-7
- requires urgent service provision
- has Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
The Integrated Assessment Tool uses this information to calculate a priority score:
- 1 point if the person meets any of the criteria listed 1 to 5 above
- 2 points if they require urgent service provision
- 5 points if they have MND.
The priority score determines an older person’s priority category.
| Priority Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Urgent | 5+ points |
| High | 4 points |
| Medium | 2-3 points |
| Standard | 0-1 points |
Scenarios
Fiona lives alone. She does not meet any other criteria used to calculate priority scores. Her priority score is 1. This means she is allocated a standard priority category.
Ray identifies as Aboriginal. During his assessment, Ray’s assessor determines she needs urgent service provision. His priority score is 3. This means he is allocated a medium priority category.
Harlene lives alone and has an assessed cognitive impairment. During her assessment, Harlene’s assessor determines she needs urgent service provision. Her priority score is 4. This means she is allocated a high priority category.
Mohammed has recently been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. This means his priority score is 5. This means he is allocated an urgent priority level.
The Assessment Delegate will ensure that the correct information has been used to score and decide an older person’s priority category.