Frequently Asked Questions

We offer nationwide Home Care Package Services for Chinese speaking Australians. We have Case Manager Partners, care workers and service providers nationally and aim to pair you with the best fit for you.

We’ve been offering quality aged care services for over 30 years. We specialise in Home Care Packages.

We understand it is important to maintain good relationships. If you have a support worker or service provider that you want to keep using then we will do our best to ensure you can. Speak with us today.

A Home Care Package (HCP) is funding given to older Australians through a
government-subsidised program with the aim of providing long-term support for elderly individuals who want to continue living independently at home.

There are four levels of Home Care Packages each with a different level of funding. Level 1 is the lowest amount of funding and Level 4 is the highest that an individual can receive. Level 1 is currently around $9k per year and Level 4 is over $52k per year.

The level assigned to you will depend on an assessment based on your physical and cognitive needs and how extensive they are. Funding from your Home Care Package can be used to buy hours of care or other support services which suits your needs and supports you to remain living independently at home.

Once you have a Home Care Package it is yours to keep, to allow you to remain living in your own home. Home Care Package funds aren’t paid to you directly. Instead, you must choose an approved Home Care Package Provider to administer the funds on your behalf and support you with your care management.

Many people are on the CHSP while waiting to be assigned a Home Care Package. Once you accept your Home Care Package you will be required to finish up your Commonwealth Home Support Programme services.

But don’t dismay, if there is a specific service you really enjoyed from the
Commonwealth Home Support Programme, you will be able to find a replacement service to fund directly from your Home Care Package.

This means you won’t even have to pay the subsidised rate out of your own pocket.Your services will be 100% covered by your Home Care Package funding.

If you are a self-funded retiree or on a part pension you may be required to pay what is called the ‘Income Tested Fee’.

The ‘Income Tested Fee’ is based on an assessment of your financial situation and can mean you will have to contribute to your package.

If the government assesses you as having to contribute to your Home Care Package,then you must pay the ‘Income Tested Fee’. No Provider is able to waive this fee.

If you have any further questions about the ‘Income Tested Fee’ or whether you would be required to pay it, give one of our Care Experts a call today on 1300 911 728.

A Referral Code is a unique number (1- number) that you receive when you are assigned a Home Care Package. This code allows the Provider of your choice to access your ACAT/ACAS assessment which contains important details about your situation and your unique requirements.

This code is also important as your chosen Provider will use it in order to trigger your Home Care Package funding on your behalf. At Happy Living we ask for a Referral Code prior to accepting a new client as it gives us important information about a client’s unique situation and care needs.

We use this information to determine whether our solution is appropriate for a client. It is important to note that a Provider can use your Referral Code to view your documentation without accepting you as a client.

At Happy Living we won’t accept your code until you are happy to come onboard as an active client. Your Referral Code is unique to you and you will need it both when you sign up with a Provider for the first time or if you decide to switch Providers. The only difference will be the way you access it.

If you have a new Home Care Package you will be able to find your Referral Code on the letter you received from My Aged Care assigning you your package.

If you are unable to find your letter, you can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask for your code. If you’re switching Providers, your code will have already been activated by your current Provider when you signed up with them, so you’ll need to reactivate it. To reactivate your code, you need to call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask them to do it.

Respite care can provide help for carers so they can go on a holiday or take part in everyday activities while ensuring the person they are caring for is looked after.

You can pay for Respite with your Home Care Package funds, but you need to be aware

that there are guidelines:

1. You need to have the funds available in your package to fund this.
2. You can only use your funds to pay for Residential Respite if the facility has private beds.
3. You need to ensure there is a bed available at the facility of your choice.

There are different types of respite care so it’s worth speaking to one of our Care Experts on 1300 911 728 to find out if the type of respite you require is fundable from your Home Care Package.

If you decide to change your Provider, then any remaining funds will be transferred to your new Provider. Please note that legally your previous Provider has up to 70 days to transfer existing funds. 

However, when transferring to Happy Living, you can use up to 80% of your unspent funds with your previous provider prior to them transferring. 

Proof of balance can be easily found on your monthly activity statement. This ensures that you have consistency of care and are not out of pocket while you wait for funds.

If you terminate or decide to leave your Home Care Package the unspent funds will be reimbursed in proportion to where the funds initially came from.

For example, if you were paying an income tested fee of 8% of your Package and the government were paying for 92% and you had $3000 of unspent funds, the money would go back to both you and the government in proportion to where it came from. 

So you would get 8% of $3000 which is $240 and the Government would get 92% of the $3000 which is $2760.