Care finder program
Supporting people to access aged care support in Hills Shire LGA and Blacktown LGA, Western Sydney
Care finders support vulnerable older people who would not be able to arrange services without intensive support and do not have a family member or friends who can assist.
Who can receive assistance from a care finder?
To receive care finder support, a person must:
- have no carer or support person who can help them, or
- not have a carer or support person they feel comfortable or trust to support them, and
- be eligible for government-funded aged care.
In addition, they should have one or more of these reasons for needing intensive support:
- have difficulty communicating because of language or literacy problems
- find it difficult to understand information and make decisions
- be reluctant to engage with aged care or government
- be in an unsafe situation if they do not receive services.
How does the service work?
The care finder will meet with the person, usually face to face. This can be at their home or another place they choose. The care finder will ask questions to understand the person’s situation and support them to work through the steps to address their needs.
What help can care finders provide?
Care finders can help people understand what aged care services are available, set up an assessment and find and choose services. They also help people with access to other supports in the community. They can help with both accessing services for the first time and changing or finding new services and supports.
They can support someone by:
- talking to My Aged Care on their behalf and arranging an assessment
- attending and providing support at the assessment
- finding and short-listing aged care providers in their area
- completing forms and understanding aged care service agreements
- checking-in once services are up and running to make sure everything is OK
- solving other challenges and connecting to supports in the community, such as health, mental health, housing and homelessness, drug and alcohol services and community groups.
They will ask some questions about why the person needs support from a care finder.
The person must give consent for you to provide any information about them to the care finder organisation. If you are referring a person to a care finder, it is best if the person is with you when you make the call.
Care finder services are provided at no cost as they are fully funded through Primary Health Networks.*
* This service has been made possible by funding from Western Sydney Primary Health Network.