Care finder services provide face-to-face assistance to vulnerable older people who need help accessing in-home support services.
Care finders have a thorough understanding of services available for older people and how to access them for different regions and cultural needs right across Australia.
The role of a care finder
Care finders help eligible older Australians access services and other relevant community supports. Their tasks typically include:
- Assist eligible older people with their My Aged Care applications, provide guidance on services to apply for and attend the My Aged Care assessment where appropriate
- Work through income/means testing and costs (with support from Services Australia as required)
- Help peoples connect with health services, mental health services, housing services, drug and alcohol services, community groups and transport as needed
- Complete high-level check-in on a periodic basis and follow up support once services have commenced
- Build a rapport with clients and providers
Care finders also conduct assertive outreach to proactively identify and engage with people outside of the referral process.
Reasons for requiring care finder support
A person may require care finder intensive support if experiencing one or more of these circumstances:
- isolation or no support from a person (e.g. carer, family, or representative) they are comfortable to have act on their behalf, and/or who is willing and able to support them to access aged care services via My Aged Care
- communication barriers, including limited literacy skills
- difficulty processing information to make decisions
- resistance to engage with aged care for any reason and their safety is at immediate risk or they may end up in a crisis situation within (approximately) the next year
- past experiences result in a hesitance to engage with aged care, institutions, or government
- homeless or at risk of homelessness and has no family or close friends who live nearby to help them find and choose services
For senior Australians who need intensive support
Care finder services are intended for senior Australians who need intensive support, who could otherwise fall through the cracks.
- 65+ years for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- 50+ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Premature Ageing (e.g. early onset degenerative health condition)
- 50+ years for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- 40+ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Want to learn more about care finder?
There are care finder organisations across Australia. To help connect someone with this service, you can call any care finder organisation in your region.
When you call, you will need to answer some questions about why the person needs help from a care finder. The person must give consent for you to provide this information, so it is best if they are with you when you call.
Every care finder organisation can support people who meets the criteria for this service. However, some also focus on particular groups. See specific organisation details below.
There is a Care Finder organisation for everyone; if you or the person you wish to connect lives outside this area, click here to find a Care Finder organisation local to you.
Services are free, providing you with personalised, independent information and guidance so that you can access the right aged care services for you. We can help with:
- Support to register with My Aged Care.
- Attendance and further support at your assessment.
- Finding, shortlisting and linking to aged care providers in your area.
- Completing forms and the explanation of aged care service agreements.
- Checking in with you once services are up and running.
- Solving other challenges and connecting you to other supports in the community, such as health, mental health, housing and homelessness, drug and alcohol services and community groups.
Referrals can be made on someone else’s behalf, providing they’ve first given you consent to contact us.
Don’t need Care finder and just ready to find a Home Care provider?
ATZ Home Care is ready to provide you with Home Care support. If you ever need any Home Care Package support or care, we advise you to take our expert advice. Why don’t you contact us to get the benefits of community participation and take control of your life? You can reach us via email at info@atzhomecare.com.au or phone at 1300 101 289.
Or if you would like to see what home care services we offer click here
