Your Home Care Package is to help fund the cost of care and services that meet your assessed care needs as set out in your Support Plan.
To help you understand your Home Care Package better and what funding can be used for, in this article, we will cover specific items which are excluded under the Home Care Packages Program.
The Quality of Care Principles 2014 lists care and services that must not be included. These exclusions are specifically applied as they do not meet the immediate care needs of recipients.
For a comprehensive list of both inclusions and exclusions please refer to the Home Care Package manual on the MyAgedCare website.
Home Care Package Exclusions:
1. General Expenses.
Services, goods, or support that people are expected to cover out of their general income throughout their life regardless of age. Expenses that are normally purchased out of general income cannot be covered through home care package funds. This includes:
- General home services including home repairs and maintenance performed by a tradesperson or other licensed professional
- Rates, insurance, water, and electricity costs
- Car and motor vehicle expenses
- Entertainment, activity expenses (i.e. craft and hobbies) and memberships
- Travel and accommodation for holidays
- Food (except as part of enteral feeding requirements)
- Over-the-counter medication and pharmacy items
2. Accommodation Costs
Permanent accommodation costs cannot be covered using home care package funds. For example:
- Mortgage payments and rent
- Heating and cooling bills
- Whitegoods and electrical appliances
- Household furniture
- Home modifications that don’t support aging safely
- Major works such as electrical, plumbing, gardening, and landscaping
- Aesthetic modifications of any kind
- Repainting the home
- Tree removal
- Payment of home care fees
3. Government Funded Services
Government funds and services cannot be paid for using home care package funds. As your home care package is funded by the Australian Government, using these funds to pay for other Government funded services or schemes is known as ‘double dipping’, as it is effectively claiming multiple benefits at once.
This includes items such as:
- dentures, dentistry, and dental surgery
- hearing aids available under the Hearing Services Program
- continence aids if a participant in the CAPS program
4. Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
Items covered by the Medicare Benefits Schedule or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme are specifically excluded from being paid for using home care package funds. This includes:
- co-payments or gap fees, including for services covered by private health insurance
- hospital costs
- ambulance cover
5. Provision of Cash Debit Cards
Provision of cash debit cards or like payments to care recipient for any purpose. This includes items such as debit cards, vouchers, cash payments, and transfer of home care package funds into a personal / business bank account.
6. Employing Family and Friends
Payment to families and friends for care services is typically a program exclusion. It is a strict exclusion if the family member is already receiving a Carer’s payment.
Learn More
If you’d like to learn more about what is Included and Excluded from your Home Care Package please refer to the latest version of the Home Care Package Manual on the MyAgedCare website.
If you’re unsure about what you can include in your Home Care Package, we can help you to work out whether your care or service request is eligible.
Please reach out to the HomeMade Team before engaging or paying for support or services to be sure they are eligible under your Support Plan.
You can send us a message via your HomeMade account, by selecting “Support Plan” from the dashboard.