Support at Home: a plain-English glossary

Aged care has a language of its own, and it can make a simple thing feel complicated. Here is the jargon you will actually meet, in plain words.

The terms, translated

My Aged Care. The government front door for all aged care. Assessments, eligibility and provider choice start here, online at myagedcare.gov.au or on 1800 200 422.

Assessment. A free conversation with an assessor, usually in your home, about what you can do and what is getting harder. It decides your funding level. Our assessment guide walks through it.

Support at Home. The government program that funds in-home aged care. It gives you a quarterly budget for services rather than a single lump sum.

Classification. Your assessed level of need under Support at Home. Higher classification means a larger quarterly budget.

Quarterly budget. The pool of government funding allocated to your care each quarter. The services you receive are paid from it.

Contribution. The part you may pay yourself towards some everyday supports, based on a means assessment. Clinical care requires no contribution.

Means assessment. A check of your income and assets that decides whether, and how much, you contribute towards your care.

Clinical care. Health-related care such as nursing. Under Support at Home this is fully government funded.

Care plan. The written plan for your support. At Aldera it is built from your One Story and reviewed with you and your family every quarter.

Care Circle. Aldera’s term for your small, fixed team of two to four regular carers. Our own, not a government term. See the Aldera way.

Care Lead. Your one named, accountable contact at Aldera, with a direct line.

One Story. The record of your preferences, routines and history, captured once so every carer arrives already knowing it.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. The independent body that handles complaints about aged care providers, free and confidentially, at agedcarequality.gov.au or 1800 951 822.

Still hitting a word that makes no sense?

Call us and we will translate it on the spot. No question is too basic, and understanding what you are agreeing to is your right, not a favour.

This glossary is general information. Definitions and rules can change, so the official source is always myagedcare.gov.au.