October is Senior’s Month, which is a great opportunity to talk about the support available to help seniors live independently, safely and comfortably in their own home.

At Better Together, we’re proud to introduce our new Home Support Team, working under the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). This team can provide affordable and cost-effective modifications and maintenance. These small, but important jobs can help Seniors feel comfortable and safer at home.

Maintenance works inside can include minor carpentry work, replacing and installing unwired smoke alarms, re-meshing windows and door fly screens, installing perspex door shields, replacing leaky taps and toilet cisterns and minor electrical work, including replacement & maintenance of ceiling fans, lights, switches and power points.

Outdoor maintenance and cleaning can include mowing and brush cutting, gutter cleaning, pressure cleaning including solar panels and fans and windows. Those jobs that make daily life easier and safer.

If seniors have a referral from an Occupational Therapist, we can also provide professional home safety modifications such as non-slip treatment on slippery tiles, grab rails, custom fabricated outdoor rails, ramps, key safe installation, shower curtain rods and box steps.

We also provide allied health case management and psychology. For very vulnerable seniors we also have the Care Finder program, which helps seniors with specific eligibility.

To access the Commonwealth Home Support Program, seniors need to register with My Aged Care (MAC), the Australian Government’s central point for accessing aged care support. If you’re 65 years or older (or 50 years or older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), you may be eligible for funding.

Registration is free, you can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or register online at https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/assessment/apply-online.

You can complete the application yourself or on behalf of a family member or friend. If you’d like to set up an ongoing support person, you can also do that with My Aged Care.

There are three parts to My Aged Care registration. The first checks if you are eligible, the second captures your details and the third confirms who the assessment organisation should call to confirm your needs and arrange the assessment. You will need your Medicare card and enough time to complete it.

When the assessor visits you or your loved one and the assessment completed, you will receive a letter from My Aged Care telling you what level of care you qualify to receive. The Commonwealth Home Support Program is the lowest level of care and you may be given Commonwealth Home Support Program support, while you wait for approval for a higher-level home care package, we can still help with the above services.

If you find that you aren’t eligible for My Aged Care, we also offer a fee-for-service option, so you can still access the help you need from Home Support Team when you need it. We also provide fee for services to people withing the community or surrounding areas on a fee-for-services, the same as any other handyman or ground maintenance contractors. This is available for anyone; you can just call us to organise a quote.

If you’re already registered with My Aged Care and have been approved for Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) services, you can choose Better Together Community Support to carry out your work.

When your assessor visits, you can ask to be referred to Better Together for your home modifications or maintenance. Alternatively, you can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask for your referral code. Once you have this, call our team on 07 4091 3850 our team can link your records with Better Together and get started on organising your support.

Your referral code will also be listed in your assessment letter, but you don’t need to wait for it to arrive before contacting us, we’re happy to help connect your records to our system.

Many seniors may not know that they are eligible for My Aged Care, and we recommend registering before your situation changes or if you already have a package and your ( or your loved ones ) needs have changed, contact My Aged Care for a new assessment.

This article does not replace advice for your specific situation and if you are unsure about the status of your application, we recommend calling My Aged Care directly on 1800 200 422.