If you’re thinking about moving into a federal government subsidised aged care home in Victoria, you’ll need to organise a free assessment with an Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS).

An ACAS usually includes a doctor, nurse, social worker and/or other health professionals. They’ll help you work out the services you need and assess your eligibility for low-level or high-level care.

They can:

• tell you about the aged care homes in your area
• explain the differences between low-level and high-level care
• determine and approve your eligibility for an aged care home
• help arrange residential respite care, like short stays in aged care homes, if you need it.

If you’re not eligible for residential care, an ACAS may be able to suggest other options, like home help, to meet your care needs. 

When you’ve met with an ACAS and received a letter confirming your eligibility for residential aged care, you can start looking for your future home.

Each home has different kinds of accommodation, care, services and activities. It’s wise to visit several different homes to find one that suits you best. The website www.myagedcare.gov.au has a ‘finder’ to help you look for homes in the area you’d like to live and contact them to organise a visit.

Before you visit, make a list of the types of care you need and the things that are important to you in a home. Involve your carer or family and ask them about their needs, so that they can continue to support you after you move. Take your ACAS letter, because some homes will want to know the level of care you’ve been approved for.

As you visit each home, you may also want to make some notes. What do you like and dislike about it? Do you feel comfortable with the staff and the environment?

Consider how well each home may meet your physical, social and emotional needs:

• Do you need help with everyday tasks like using the toilet, bathing or moving around your home?
• What training does the care staff have? Are there registered nurses, enrolled nurses or trained carers? How many care staff are on duty overnight?
• How does the home ensure residents have some privacy?
• What are the meal arrangements? Ask about seating, times, menus, visitors, meals in your room and special diets.
• Can the home meet special needs like a different language and culture, religious observances, pets and access to medical visits?
• What social and cultural activities are offered? How are they decided? Are residents’ interests considered?
• How can your family and friends be involved? Can they stay overnight if required?
• What transport options are available for visiting shops, friends and family?
• Can the home meet medical needs such as assistance with medication, wound or catheter care?
• Do you need services like podiatry (foot care), physiotherapy (exercise, mobility, strength and balance) or speech therapy (communicating, swallowing or eating)?
• What type of care services cannot be provided? How would the home advise you of this?

Moving into an aged care home means new surroundings, routines and people. You may have help with many of the everyday tasks that you’ve been used to doing for yourself, and you’ll be able to participate in plenty of social activities.

It’s important to remember that you will still be your own person. As long as your health permits, you can go on holidays, visit friends and come and go as you like.

You will still be able to vote and enjoy other rights as a citizen. You will retain the right to control your finances and possessions.

As a resident, you will have a say in your living arrangements in general. You will be expected to respect the rights and needs of other people in the home, as they will be expected to respect yours.