Aged Care Help

The first step is typically undergoing an Aged Care Assessment so that the person entering care can secure Australian Government funding.

Read more about aged care assessments in the Getting Started page.

Yes! Typically there are two types of admissions into residential aged care:

The first is a 'permanent aged care admission', meaning the person entering care will do so on a permanent basis. They can reside at the aged care facility until they decide to transfer to another aged care facility, or otherwise depart with this option.

The second type of admission is a 'respite stay'. A respite stay is a short term stay that typically lasts a few weeks. This type of admission is heavily subsidised by the Australian Government, and allows carers and other families to take a much needed respite break when they need.

If you are looking for a respite stay, these are organised in a slightly different manner. Aged Care Decisions can quickly and easily prepare a customised list of suitable respite options to suit your individual needs.

Find Aged Care Options

Finding a vacancy is unfortunately not as easy as booking a hotel room.

Aged care facilities need to look closely at the care needs of the person entering care to ensure any vacant rooms are suitable. Different facilities offer different types of care, and even within a nursing home, different ‘wings’ or parts of cater to different needs.

Let us make it simple and easy by using our tried and trusted process to prepare a customised list of matching aged care providers for you. 

Our 100% free aged care help service allows you to shortlist and tour a range of nursing home options. All of which have already been vetted for you to match your desired care needs, preferences and budget.

Find Aged Care Vacancies

There are two types of forms you will need to fill out when applying to enter aged care:

• Centrelink Forms – Read the Centrelink page to work out which forms are needed for your particular circumstance. All the Centrelink forms you need can be downloaded straight from the Centrelink website.
• Aged Care Facility Application Forms – You may be able to find these by searching the individual aged care service's website. Short on time? Eliminate this process by using our 100% Free Application Service here.

Find Aged Care Options

Both ‘Power of Attorney’ and ‘Guardianship’ are legal terms relating to the authority someone has to make decisions on behalf of another. Let us help explain why both are relevant when finding a place for someone in care:

Power of Attorney

A person can appoint another person as their Power of Attorney, or ‘POA’ for short.

Appointing a POA is done through a formal written document that differs state by state. The laws relating to how a POA is created also vary, so be sure to check what is relevant to you.

A POA can make both personal decisions (e.g. relating to medical care) and financial decisions (i.e. sign contracts) for another person.

There are typically two types of a Power of Attorney that can be created:

• General Power of Attorney – this type of appointment is typically done for a set period, or for a set reason.
• Enduring Power of Attorney – this type of appointment does not typically have an end date, and is usually done when a persons health or mental capacity may be decline.

Most importantly, it's good to know that the person who has appointed a POA, still retains their legal right to make decisions on their own behalf.

Guardianship

Guardianship is the formal legal process of having a person appointed as the legal guardian of another person in a court or tribunal. The process and requirements of guardianship differ in each state.

In the context of aged care, a guardianship process may be used to appoint one or several people as legal guardians of an older person with an impaired capacity to make decisions in their own best interest. 

In plain English, guardianship allows one or several people to override the legal decision making capacity of another person.

Aged Care Decisions is a 100% independently owned and operated organisation helping families simplify the search for residential aged care, respite care and home care in Australia.

Founded in 2013 by two friends undergoing the search and application process themselves, they decided that more aged care help was needed for other families going through the same process. Families need an easy way to gather the right information and make informed decisions for their loved ones. The team at Aged Care Decisions can offer un-biased recommendations because it is not owned or controlled by any particular aged care service provider.

Read more about Aged Care Decisions here.

We also have a Voluntary Code of Conduct, which enshrines our commitment to transparency, impartiality and accountability.

Read the Voluntary Code of Conduct here.

Aged Care Decisions is an Australian Aged Care Agency providing a 100% Free Placement Service for Australian families.

It is our guarantee that all residents and families get the aged care help they need, whatever their aged care journey might be. For more information on how we pride ourselves in ensuring your family is taken care of, view our Client Support Guarantee.

Yes, we can assure you that our service is really 100% free of charge. No catches. No hidden fees.

We provide end-to-end support throughout the process of connecting Australian families, to providers and health professionals in the aged care industry.

For Families:
We support everyday families in their quest to find a vacancy in a nursing home or an availability in a home care service. The options we provide for you have been carefully selected to match your care needs, preferences and budget based on the information you give us. You can begin this process with us here.

For Aged Care Providers:
Aged Care Decisions supports aged care providers by providing highly qualified placement referrals in need of your nursing home, respite care and home care services.

For Health Professionals:
We support Health Professionals in providing an emergency placement service for families needing to place a loved one who is discharging from hospital.

Our service is a 100% free of charge aged care help service for Australian families. No if's, no but's, and no hidden charges.

We are able to provide this service for you by charging aged care providers a set, industry standard services fee for undertaking customer service & admissions services on their behalf.

You can have peace of mind knowing that under Australian law this fee cannot be passed onto you - under any circumstance.

How does this work?

Every aged care facility in Australia pays the exact same amount - regardless of who they are, or who the person entering care is.

Our unique model means that we have no financial motivation to recommend one facility over another. The fee to aged care service providers is exactly the same regardless of your financial status, RAD or care level.

We also offer the option for families to fully utelise our service and still choose not to select a facility introduced by our team. You are always in control at every stage of the process, regardless of the outcome.

Best of all, if you decide not to used one of the service providers we find, our service will still remain 100% free of charge.

Our only desire is that you and your family select an aged care facility that meets your needs.

We want to reduce the time and stress involved, by matching you with vacancies that meet your care needs, budget, location and other preferences.

Find Aged Care here

Aged Care Decisions is Australia’s largest aged care placement service provider.

We can help your family by:

• Providing detailed information about how aged care works (including how fees work).
• Preparing a customised report – which matches the care needs, preferences and budget of the person entering care. This includes nursing home, respite care or home care availability in their area.
• Assigning a dedicated Placement Specialist there to assist you in every step of the aged care journey.
• Booking nursing home tours on your behalf.
• Interacting with the Aged Care Facility admissions staff on your behalf.

Get Started Now

Aged Care Decisions is a fast, free and independent service that works with families needing to find Aged Care Facilities for a loved one.

Our trained Placement Specialists will prepare a customised list of vacancies within your area, matching the needs and preferences of the person entering residential, respite or home care.

We also assist families to coordinate tours, as well as work through the paperwork and logistics associated with placing a loved one in aged care.

Allowing you to make an independent and hassle-free decision with no stress, for FREE!

Our service is 100% Free because aged care providers pay us an industry standard placement services fee when we help them place a new resident into their aged facility.

Find Aged Care here

We are Australia’s largest residential, respite and home care service working with over 1000 Aged Care facilities across Australia.

Every aged care service provider registered in our system must be currently accredited and licensed by the Australian Government’s Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission.

If an aged care facility loses its accreditation for any reason, we will cease referring families to that facility until it regains its registered status.

Find Aged Care

We create your customised report by utilising our national database of partner facilities.

We provided you with suitable vacancy options based on the care needs, preferences and budget of the person wanting to enter care. 

You will have piece of mind knowing that we do not recommend one facility over another. You get to choose which facility is best for you, your family and the person entering care.

Each service provider provides different types of care for different care needs.

Aged Care Decisions will assist you in finding the right match by compiling a customised list of vacancies that match your individual circumstance. We can also assist with coordinating tours and finding answers to questions the family may have.

Get aged care help by clicking here.

The Industry Standard Placement Services Fee is $2650.00 ex GST. This fee is equivalent to approximately 8 days of average bed day revenue (2019 Dept of Health ACFA Report). 

There is no joining fee, no registration fee, and no ongoing fees for service providers. The only fee you pay us is when a placement takes place. No admission from us means no fee for you.

You pay the Placement Services Fee if and when a resident moves into your facility and commences permanent care. 

If the resident moves in for respite services, you will be required to pay an interim Respite Services Fee, but this amount is deducted from the full Placement Services Fee if that person becomes a permanent resident in your facility.

You can cancel your agreement with us at anytime.

The prices nominated above are industry wide, therefore we do not recommend one facility over another for a higher fee. Our role is purely to provide information and to make introductions when suitable for your service.

Yes, our Terms & Conditions mean that we are contractually obligated to disclose our commercial model and fee structure to families, both verbally and in writing at all stages of our interactions.

All referrals from us include full family contact details, as well as their financial capacity (RAD paying / concessional), a complete clinical assessment, Referral Codes (where applicable), and an ACFI estimate.

A Short Stay Rebate of 60% of the Placement Services Fee is offered in the event that a resident referred by Aged Care Decisions either passes away or moves out within 21 days of moving in.

The Short Stay Rebate is offered to you as either a rebate or credit, and only applies to permanent placements.

We screen families by asking if they have already contacted any facilities or operators.

Our introductions are only intended to assist in providing you with new potential residents, therefore the fee does not apply to your organisation’s pre-existing enquiries.

Simply fill out a one page Placement Services Registration Form, and we can have your organisation up and running on the same day. Start your registration here.

Discharging patients into aged care is a time-consuming and labour intensive job, requiring large amounts of repetitive administrative work.

To find suitable vacancies, book tours and manage family expectations can be a drain on valuable hospital resources.

Aged Care Decisions has relationships with over 70% of aged care providers in metro areas across Australia, we are constantly monitoring live vacancy data.

Our technology allows us to move quickly, and our trained and dedicated Placement Specialists focus on matching a patients care needs, preferences and budget.

We take the hassle out of booking tours, securing available vacancies and streamlining the discharge process, freeing up your team to focus on other priorities.

Our Client Support Guarantee states that Aged Care Decisions provides the same superior level of service and support to ALL potential residents and families seeking our services. 

Whether a family already has a preferred facility or not, the level of support and service we provide remains the same even if the service provider is not registered with us.

Due to privacy laws, the only element of our service that cannot be disclosed is when a preferred facility not registered with us is seeking support with personal or clinical information and assistance with booking tours.

Our service is 100% free to both hospitals and patients.

We require no commitment, contract or exclusivity to for you to use our service. We believe the value of what we do speaks for itself.