Step 3.1

What is involved in the Assessment?

The Assessment

An assessment is also needed to:

  • have respite care in an aged care home (nursing home)
  • access transition care (a temporary stay after or sometimes before a time in hospital)

Plus:

  • receive aged care services through a Home Care Package
What is involved in an assessment?

The aim is to understand your situation and needs fully, so assessors will look at various things, including:

All this feeds into getting the type of care that is best for you

The good news is that you don't need to go anyway. The assessor comes to you.

Don't be concerned: you can have anyone you want to be with you during the assessment.

Don't be concerned, there is nothing to be afraid of and you can have anyone you want to be with you during the assessment.

Annie Donaldson

agedcare101 Registered Nurse, Carer

Who is on the Aged Care Assessment Team?

Aged Care Assessment Teams are usually made up of:

Often they are based in the local hospital or community health service centre.

How long does an assessment take place?

An assessment will generally take between 45 minutes and 75 minutes.  And it usually takes another two weeks before the report arrives.  This is important because you need this report before you can start looking for an aged care home.

Do you have to pay for the assessment?

No, the assessment is free.  The good news is, it doesn't cost a cent.

Top Tip

You can get an emergency assessment meeting with as little as 48 hours notice.  Normally though it takes up to 6 weeks to have the assessment followed by another 2 weeks for the report.

Have a question? Open our discussion forum

8 weeks
Time estimate to complete all of the tasks within this step, including all sub-steps.

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A special thanks to our contributors

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Caroline Egan

DCM Media, agedcare101

Caroline has a wealth of experience writing within the retirement and aged care sector and is a contributing journalist for the Villages.com.au and agedcare101 blog and accompanying newsletters.

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Ian Horswill

Journalist

Ian is a journalist, writer and sub-editor for the aged care sector, working at The DCM Group. He writes for The Weekly Source, agedcare101, villages.com.au and the DCM Institute fortnightly newsletter Friday. Ian is in daily contact with CEOs of retirement living, land lease and the aged care operations and makes a new contact every week. He investigates media releases, LinkedIn and Facebook for a good source for ideas for stories.

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Lauren Broomham

Retirement and Aged Care Journalist

Lauren is a journalist for villages.com.au, agedcare101 and The Donaldson Sisters. Growing up in a big family in small town communities, she has always had a love for the written word, joining her local library at the age of six months. With over eight years' experience in writing and editing, she is a keen follower of news and current affairs with a nose for a good story.

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Jill Donaldson

Physiotherapist

Jill has been practicing as a clinical physiotherapist for 30 years. For the last 13 years she has worked solely in the Aged Care sector in more than 50 metropolitan and regional facilities. Jill has also toured care facilities in the US and Africa and is a passionate advocate for both the residents in aged care and the staff who care for them. She researches and writes for DCM Media.

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Chris Baynes

DCM Media, agedcare101

Chris has been a journalist and publisher in the retirement village and aged care sectors for 11 years. He has visited over 250 retirement villages and 50 aged care facilities both within Australia and internationally. Chris is a regular speaker at industry conferences plus is a frequent radio commentator.

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Annie Donaldson

Nurse and Carer

Annie has a long career in both nursing and the media. She has planned and co-ordinated the medical support from both international TV productions and major stadium events. In recent years she has been a primary family carer plus involved in structured carer support.