Resident Agreement
You can choose to enter into the Resident Agreement but not sign it at the time it is offered. You are free to take time to ask friends or family, your carer, financial adviser or lawyer to help you go through the agreement, if you wish.
There is no official time limit for signing the Resident Agreement if:
- you are not paying a contribution to your accommodation;
or:
- the Resident Agreement and the accommodation agreement are separate documents
However, as the Resident Agreement covers your rights and responsibilities, it is in your best interest to finalise the Resident Agreement as soon as you can.
Accommodation Agreement
If you are contributing to your accommodation costs, you have 28 days from the date you move in - to decide how you want to pay your accommodation costs and sign the Accommodation Agreement.
If you have any questions you should ask the aged care home (nursing home). It is up to them to make sure you and your family or other representatives have every chance to properly understand this legally binding agreement. You can also ask family, friends or a legal practitioner to help you understand the agreement.
If you are contributing to your accommodation costs, you have 28 days from the date you move in to decide how you want to pay your accommodation costs and sign the Accommodation Agreement.
Combined Resident Agreement and Accommodation Agreement
If the Accommodation Agreement is a part of the Resident Agreement and you have to pay a contribution to your accommodation costs, then you'll need to sign the resident agreement within 28 days of moving into your aged care home.
Before you sign, remember:
If there are any parts of the agreements that you don’t understand you should tell the aged care home and get help.
- Translation services: If English is not your first language, you can have someone with you who can help with translating. If you don’t know anyone who can help you this way, you can contact the Australian government’s translating and interpreting service (TIS) on 131 450. TIS covers more than 100 languages and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the cost of a local call.
- Alternative signature: If you aren’t able to sign the agreement yourself, your nominated legal representative, such as your Power of Attorney, can sign the agreement on your behalf - as long as they can show they have full understanding of the document.
Before you sign, remember, if there are any parts of the agreements that you don't understand you should tell the aged care home and get help.
