Aged Care
Start here: Taking the next step through the aged care jungle
Australia’s aged care system can feel like a maze of forms and wait times. Let’s break it down into what you can do right now.
The short version
- We’re all at different stages of the process
- Nearly everyone finds this tricky to navigate
- There’s always a next step you can take
No one sends you a letter when Mum gets old. Not a card, not a Post-It. Nothing.
There’s no, Dear Helen, heard your mum’s turning 80 and thought you could use this info pack. Yours sincerely, the government.
There’s just the realisation you’ve gone from being cared for to doing the care, and you forgot to pause to learn how aged care works.
To paraphrase the great John Green, your Mum gets old the way she falls asleep: slowly, and then all at once. A bung hip. A forgotten word. And now suddenly you’re knee-deep in forms and red tape, and no one has even delivered a fruit basket to apologise for how diabolically complex the Australian system is.
You’re probably reading this late at night. Worry is keeping you awake. You’re on your phone typing things like WHAT IS MY AGED CARE? and WHAT’S AN IAT? All ChatGPT can do is apologise because it doesn’t understand how it works either.
The rest of the house is quiet. It feels like you’re the only person in the world trying to figure this out.
You don’t have to get it exactly right. But you do have to start.
Something’s just happened
A fall, a hospital admission, a diagnosis, a decision. For many people, this is the catalyst for looking into aged care. Unfortunately, “the most stressful moments of my life” aren’t always the best environment for making complicated and confusing decisions.
Step one: deep breath. Step two: My Aged Care.
The Australian government subsidises in-home and residential care for eligible people, and My Aged Care is the body that coordinates it all. They’re the people who assess what your parent needs and how much money they should receive.
All government-funded care starts with My Aged Care. Visit the website or call 1800 200 422 (hope you like hold music).
Nothing’s happened but you’re worried
This is the best place to be. You’re trying to figure it out before it becomes urgent, which means less strain later.
My Aged Care: This is the entry point for all government-funded care, and despite what the website says, you can start the process before you need it. Assessments can be done for any eligible person, and they (and/or you) can choose whether to accept or decline support if it’s offered. Visit the website or call 1800 200 422.
You’ve been assessed and you’re waiting
So far all you have is a letter and increasingly short patience.
This part does take time. Latest reports put the national median wait from application to starting Support at Home services at 297 days, and in some parts of the country it can be 11-12 months. These figures change depending on the priority category (“urgent” is a shorter wait; “standard” is the longest). If things have got worse in the meantime, you can ask My Aged Care to reassess.
The good news is, if you've already been assessed, some of this wait time is already behind you.
If you're struggling with the wait to start services, your other options include:
- Commonwealth Home Support Program: Entry level support only, but it can be accessed before your funding comes through.
- Interim funding: If wait times blow out, you may be assigned 60% of your level classification, so you can get started without waiting for the full amount. It's worth knowing this isn't backdated - you never get the other 40% from this time period. Interim funding also doesn't apply to End-of-Life or Restorative Care.
- Using what turns up: Funding allocation is per service, so you don’t have to wait for the whole lot. Start each one as it comes through.
- Paying privately: Fully out of your pocket. Not government regulated. It’s a last resort you’re allowed to feel angry about.
Services have started but they’re stressful, too
Hallelujah, people are coming to help! But maybe it’s not what you expected – missed visits, confusing bills and mismatched carers are all common.
The Statement of Rights says you have the right to raise issues without fear of being punished or treated unfairly.
My Aged Care advises discussing any issues with your provider first. If you’re not satisfied, you can take it to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission by calling 1800 951 822. That complaint can also be anonymous or confidential.
The Older Persons Advocacy Network (known as OPAN) offers free, independent help – they can even make the complaint with you. If you feel stuck, give them a call on 1800 700 600.
You’re wrecked and need some help for you, not someone else
Putting others first doesn’t leave much for you. If it’s time to take a break, there are things that will help – and feeling guilty isn’t one of them.
Respite care is when someone else takes care of your parent so you can have a break, and it’s a critical service based on real need. No one can give and give indefinitely.
There are a few options:
- Planned respite: As part of a Carer Gateway tailored support package, you might be able to get it for free. Your local Carer Gateway provider can help you with the first step; call them on 1800 422 737.
- Emergency respite: For stuff you can’t plan, like illness or injury. This is also a Carer Gateway service, so the same number applies.
- Support at Home: If you’ve been approved, your parent’s budget can be put towards respite under the Independence category (you’ll also have to make a contribution).
The practical bitWhat to do this week
- For better or worse, most of these scenarios start in the same place: My Aged Care.
- Call them on 1800 200 422.
- Your parent can do it, or you can do it on their behalf with their consent.
Common questions
Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask for an aged care assessment. You can do this on your parent's behalf with their consent. An assessor then meets them, and a Notice of Decision letter follows with what they've been approved for.
Yes, with their consent. For ongoing authority to receive information about them, you can apply through My Aged Care to become a registered supporter — a formal role under the Aged Care Act. It gives you information access but not decision-making power; providers must still go directly to your parent for decisions.
It depends. From approval to funding, My Aged Care estimated 7–8 months for standard priority as at 30 June 2026, and under a month for urgent. Measured from first application to services actually starting, the government's Quarter 4 2025–26 statutory report recorded a median of 297 days.
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme can be accessed before funding arrives, and is available for urgent need ahead of a budget allocation. If waits blow out you may be assigned interim funding at 60% of the approved level. Funding is also allocated per service, so you can start with whichever part arrives first.
The Integrated Assessment Tool (or IAT) is the questionnaire an assessor uses during an aged care assessment. It contains more than 500 questions, and since 1 November 2025 the funding level it produces has been set by an algorithm the assessor cannot override.
No. My Aged Care states that making a complaint will not affect your support services, and the Statement of Rights gives every older person the right to raise issues "without fear of being punished or treated unfairly." Complaints to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can also be made anonymously or confidentially.
Raise it with the provider first, since most issues can be resolved there. If you're not satisfied, contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822. The Older Persons Advocacy Network offers free independent help and can make the complaint with you — 1800 700 600.
Yes. Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 — planned respite may be free as part of a tailored support package, and emergency respite can be arranged if you become ill or injured. Respite is also available through your parent's Support at Home budget, where it sits in the Independence category and attracts a contribution.
The Notice of Decision letter must set out the reasons for the decision and how to have it reviewed. Requests can now be made by email rather than post. If you don't hear back within 90 days, the review has been unsuccessful.