Seniors community group, Sunshine 60 & Better Group Inc., recently hosted a free event at the Kawana Forest Meeting Place on Monday, 14 November. The event proved popular with over ninety people attending to learn more about the Aged Care Reforms and My Aged Care.
Council of the Ageing (COTA) Peer Educator, Tahhniaa Dhavai, presentation to the audience concentrated on the reforms and the support older Australians can get via My Aged Care. Mrs Dhavai said that the “February 2017 reforms will see the home care packages attached to the consumer. This will enable the consumer to choose a service provider to deliver their care rather than wait for a care package to become available, to get the care they need. The reforms she said were setting a positive course for Aged Care into the future.” After a break for morning tea there was a question and answer session which provided a lot of useful information to attendees.
Andrew Wallace MP, Federal Member for Fisher, also attended the event. He said “My Aged Care is part of the Australian Government’s changes to the aged care system which have been designed to give people more choice, more control and easier access to a full range of aged care services.”
My Aged Care is made up of a website (https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/) and a contact centre. Together they can provide information on aged care for yourself, a family member, friend or someone you’re caring for. You can call the My Aged Care contact centre on 1800 200 422 between 8am and 8pm on weekdays and between 10am and 2pm on Saturdays. The My Aged Care contact centre is closed on Sundays and national public holidays.
My Aged Care provides you with information about:
- Different types of aged care services;
- Eligibility for services;
- How we understand your aged care needs and help you find local services to meet your needs – you are able to select your own service provider;
- Costs of your aged care services, including fee estimators.