Eligibility for aged care services
Under the Aged Care Act, access to Australian Government-funded aged care services is limited to people with care needs who are either:
- aged 65 years and over
- Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and aged 50 years or over
- homeless or at risk of homelessness and aged 50 years or over
- already living in an aged care home or accessing aged care services.
If you are under 65, before you access aged care, you must be provided an opportunity to consider alternative services that may be available to meet your care needs.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports NDIS participants under 65 years to live in the community and use housing, care and services that suit you.
Applying for access to the NDIS
To be eligible for the NDIS, you must:
- be an Australian resident (or equivalent)
- be aged under 65 years
- have a disability that is permanent and affects daily life activities.
To start the process, you can either:
You, your nominee, family member or carer can help progress your NDIS application by providing:
- evidence of your disability
- copies of key documents such as:
- accommodation agreement
- residential care agreement
- letters on aged care fees from Services Australia
- statement from the aged care home detailing your means-tested care fee and accommodation payments (if available).
If you are eligible
If you are eligible for the NDIS, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will set up a planning meeting with a NDIS planner.
In this meeting, you can discuss your accommodation and support goals, and explore suitable accommodation options.
If you want to stay in your current aged care home, you will continue to:
- receive care and services through the aged care provider
- pay existing aged care fees and payments.
The NDIS will determine what supports it funds, and will include these in your NDIS plan.
The NDIS guidelines for younger people in residential aged care explains how decisions are made.
If you are not eligible
If you are not eligible for the NDIS and want to move out of an aged care home, you can access the Younger people in residential aged care (YPIRAC) toolkit to help understand your housing and support options.
If you live in NSW and are not eligible for the NDIS, the Ability First Australia (AFA) NSW Systems Coordinator Program can help you to access supports and services across the health, community, disability and housing sectors. The state-funded program provides a case management service to people under the age of 65 living in the community, who present with complex care needs.
Residential aged care fees and payments
If you live in an aged care home, you may need to contribute to:
- accommodation costs
- living expenses
- care services not NDIS-funded.
Find out more about the residential aged care fees and payments.
Contact
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) contact
