How to Navigate Aged Care in Australia: Costs, Government Subsidies and What to Do When Mum or Dad Needs Help

What does aged care in Australia actually cost, and is your family prepared when the time comes? In this episode of Get Rich, Molly sits down with aged care financial specialist and co-author of Downsizing Made Simple, Rachel, to demystify one of the most overwhelming   and most avoided   financial conversations Australian families need to have. Whether you're the one your family looks to when things get hard (hi, TED 👋) or you just want to get ahead of this before there's a crisis, this episode is your starting point. No jargon, no overwhelm   just clear, practical guidance on what to expect and how to plan.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What aged care in Australia actually includes   and why it's so much more than just nursing homes
• The difference between home care and residential aged care, and what each one costs
• How means testing works and why the bill can be higher than your income
• What a RAD and a DAP are, and how families typically fund the move into residential care
• Why selling the family home isn't always the right move (and when it could actually cost you more)
• How to access government-funded care through My Aged Care   and why you shouldn't wait until there's a crisis
• What the Aged Care Assessment is, why it's like a passport, and the one mistake people make that leaves them under-supported
• What happens when a parent lands in hospital and you have 48 hours to find a bed
• The questions you must ask before signing anything with an aged care provider
• Three things you can do this week to start the conversation with your parents

Perfect for: Australian women with ageing parents, anyone who's ever Googled "how does aged care work in Australia," and every Trusted Eldest Daughter who's quietly holding this all together.

The biggest takeaway from this episode? The best time to plan for aged care was years ago. The second best time is right now. 🎧

  

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction: The Aged Care Conversation Every Australian Family Needs to Have
01:50 - Meet Rachel: Aged Care Financial Specialist and Co-Author of Downsizing Made Simple
02:08 - What Is Aged Care in Australia? And Who Is the "Trusted Eldest Daughter" (TED)?
03:17 - Home Care vs Retirement Villages vs Nursing Homes: Breaking Down Your Options
04:33 - How Much Does Aged Care Cost in Australia? Government Subsidies Explained
05:49 - What Is Clinical Care and What Does the Government Actually Fund?
06:13 - How Means Testing Works: What Pensioners vs Self-Funded Retirees Pay
07:31 - The Biggest Aged Care Myth: Why "You Won't Pay More Than You Can Afford" Isn't True
08:51 - How to Access Government-Funded Aged Care: Starting With My Aged Care
09:34 - The Aged Care Assessment: Why It's Like a Passport (and Why Honesty Matters)
11:02 - Step-by-Step: How to Help an Ageing Parent Access Home Care in Australia
13:08 - Residential Aged Care Costs: Low Means vs Market Price Payers
14:01 - What Is a RAD and a DAP? How Accommodation Payments Work in Aged Care Homes
15:34 - The Ongoing Daily Costs of Residential Aged Care: What to Budget For
17:06 - The Biggest Mistakes Australians Make When It Comes to Aged Care Planning
18:01 - Should You Sell the Family Home to Pay for Aged Care? (The Answer May Surprise You)
19:32 - Worst Case Scenario: What to Do When a Parent Suddenly Needs an Aged Care Bed
20:33 - What Is Respite Care in Australia and Why It's a Smart Way to "Try Before You Buy"
22:05 - Three Things You Can Do This Week to Prepare for Your Parents' Aged Care
24:35 - Questions to Ask an Aged Care Provider Before You Sign Anything
27:13 - Where to Find Rachel and the Free Resources Inside Downsizing Made Simple 

 

RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE

📖 Downsizing Made Simple (Rachel's book, co-authored with Noel Whitaker)
🔗 https://downsizingmadesimple.com.au/

🏛️ My Aged Care
The government's starting point for all aged care assessments and information in Australia.
🔗 www.myagedcare.gov.au

 

CONNECT WITH RACHEL LANE

Book: https://downsizingmadesimple.com.au/
Software: https://www.villageguru.com.au/
Website: https://agedcaregurus.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agedcaregurus
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agedcaregurus/

 

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Buying a property? Need Financial Advice? Time to sort the Will? Let us help connect you with an awesome woman in finance! https://directory.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
Website: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfinanceclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/
Newsletter: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/newsletter23

 

TAKEAWAYS

SOUND BITES

 "Aged care costs can exceed income"
"Pay by lump sum or daily payment"
"Many wait too long to seek aged care"

 

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Hey, hey. Welcome back to another episode of Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that, get rich and stay rich. I'm your host, Molly Benjamin, and today we are going into territory we've never covered before on this show. And if you can hear some noise in the background, that's my little girl, Amalie, because she will refuse to go with a babysitter.

[00:00:21] She wants to be on the podcast. So fine, she can be on it. But this is a conversation that I think is a bit overdue, 'cause we are talking about aged care. Now, I know you're probably going, "Molly, I'm not quite there yet." But the thing is, this episode isn't really about you, it's about your parents. And if you're anything like a lot of our community, you might be what today's guest calls a TED, the trusted eldest daughter, the one who ends up navigating all this when the time comes.

[00:00:48] And it is a bit of a minefield. It's complex and it's costly. So we're gonna be talking about the wait lists, uh, the accommodation deposits. And after this conversation, I had no idea how complex and costly aged care in Australia actually is. We're talking wait lists of up to a year, accommodation deposits that can hit 750K, a system with a lot of moving parts that families don't even look at until there's a crisis.

[00:01:14] So today, I'm sitting down with Rachael, co-author of bestselling book, Downsizing Made Simple. She did this with Noel Whittaker. She's an aged care financial specialist who breaks this all down in a way that makes sense. You'll hear it in the podcast, but the thing she kept saying over and over is, like, have this conversation now while things are good.

[00:01:32] And it's actually a conversation that I think I'm gonna start having with my sisters and my parents, even though we're many, many, many, many years from it, but it's still good to just start that conversation. All right. Let's get into this fortnight's episode Rachel, welcome to the podcast.

[00:01:50] Thanks for having me.

[00:01:51] Now, I wanted to talk about aged care because it's a topic we've never really spoken about at Ladies Finance Club, yet it's gonna affect most of us. So let's start with the basics. What exactly is aged care in Australia, and when should we start really thinking about it for our parents?

[00:02:08] Yeah. Well, a lot of your audience might be who we call TED, uh, and TED stands for the trusted eldest daughter, and she's normally the one that's responsible for navigating everything from the type of care that her parents receive through to how much it costs, the means testing, the forms, moving things, the- the whole shooting match.

[00:02:29] So I guess the definition of aged care for a lot of people is residential aged care. Yeah What we used to call nursing homes and hostels. But we know that less than 20% of Australians who are getting aged care today live in residential aged care. Mm. The overwhelming majority of people receive aged care in their home.

[00:02:50] Ah. But that doesn't mean they're staying in the family home in the suburbs. They could be moving into a granny flat, a retirement village, a land lease community, a strata apartment, or a townhouse. There's lots of different living environments that people live in- Mm ... and that's the great thing about home care is it can be delivered anywhere.

[00:03:09] But I always like to say aged care is wherever you wanna live and whatever aged care you wanna receive. That's aged care.

[00:03:17] Okay, and there are different types of aged care options available. So you mentioned before there's home care, retirement villages, nursing homes. Can you just break those down for us?

[00:03:27] Yeah, sure. I guess the central decision when it comes to aged care is where are you going to live to get access- Yeah ... to the care you need. Mm-hmm. So are you going to stay in your own home or look at some of the downsizing options- Mm ... like retirement villages or land lease communities or granny flats, for example- Mm

[00:03:47] or are you going to live in an aged care home?

[00:03:51] Mm-hmm.

[00:03:52] So whatever move you make, there will be a contract involved, and there will be costs. Mm-hmm. So it's really important that people ... I kind of tell people to do two exercises. The exercise on the costs is to break it down into the ingoing, the ongoing, and the outgoing.

[00:04:10] Yeah.

[00:04:10] And the exercise on the legal arrangement is to look at what are my rights, what are my responsibilities, and what are my costs at every step. So before I move in, while I live there, and after I leave. Because- Yeah ... it's really important that that balance is what best suits you, essentially.

[00:04:30] Mm-hmm. And this is a big question.

[00:04:33] So what does aged care cost in Australia? And then are there government subsidies or schemes that people should be tapping into, but either they don't know, or they do know, and, like, how does that work? Big question.

[00:04:48] Very big question. And, um, the answer is as long as a piece of string. But I'll- Yeah ... try to broadly give you an answer.

[00:04:55] Great.

[00:04:55] So I guess there's two worlds. There's the residential aged care world- Mm-hmm ... and then there's the outside residential aged care world. And within the- Sort of home care world, there's a number of different programs. A lot of people think just about home care packages.

[00:05:14] Mm-hmm.

[00:05:15] Uh, and home care packages are great, but there's other programs in there as well like the Commonwealth Home Support Program.

[00:05:22] Okay. Which is very similar to home care packages, but different services, different people delivering that care. In terms of what it costs, government-funded aged care is means tested, so it will depend- Okay ... on your assets and your income, and it will also depend on which services you receive. So in both home care and residential aged care, your clinical care, there is no co-contribution towards.

[00:05:49] Could you break down what that is? Like, what is clinical cl- care? What comes in that home package?

[00:05:54] Yeah, sure. Okay. So in both home care and residential aged care, your clinical care is funded by the government. Okay. So you don't make a co-contribution.

[00:06:05] Okay.

[00:06:05] Clinical care is things like nursing care, things from physiotherapists, things of the occupational therapists- Mm-hmm

[00:06:13] things of that nature. In home care, you make a co-contribution towards your independence services, and that co-contribution- Okay ... is based on your assets and income. And the minimum- Okay ... contribution that you'll make is 5%. So if the- Okay ... service, for example, costs $100, then you contribute $5. And the most- Okay, wow

[00:06:36] you'll contribute if you're a self-funded retiree is 50%. So using that same example, if the service cost $100, you'll pay $50. Mm-hmm. Okay. Then the next tier is everyday living services. So that's things- Yeah ... with help like preparing meals, gardening, things of that nature.

[00:06:56] That's- They come into your home and do it.

[00:06:58] Yeah, or take you to do it. Yeah. So that, the co-contributions are between 17.5%- Okay ... and 80%. Yeah. Again, depending on your assets and income. So using the $100 service, if you're a full pensioner, you'll pay $17.50 for every $100. Mm. If you're a self-funded retiree, you'll pay $80 for every $100 of service.

[00:07:22] Okay. And so pensioner, obviously they rely on the pension.

[00:07:26] Self-funded, they're using money from their retirement savings, their super fund. Yeah, or

[00:07:31] their investments or- Or just savings in general ... I mean- Yeah ... I think one of the, the fallacies, if you like, or the myths that exist within- Mm ... aged care is that because it's means tested- You won't be charged more than you can afford to pay.

[00:07:45] Yeah. And that's simply not true. Mm-hmm. So for a lot of people receiving aged care services, whether it's home care or residential aged care- Mm ... they find that the cost of their services is greater than their income.

[00:07:58] Wow, okay.

[00:07:59] Is that- A- and that's sort of because it's a, it's a combination of your assets and your income- Mm

[00:08:04] that are used to calculate how much you need to pay. It's not purely based on your income.

[00:08:09] So what do people do in that situation?

[00:08:12] So, well, they either eat down on the investments- Mm-hmm ... so they dip into the capital. Some people use reverse mortgages or the government's home equity access scheme to tap into the equity in their home to fund that cashflow shortfall.

[00:08:29] Okay. Other people look at downsizing and freeing up some of that equity from their home and using that to buy services.

[00:08:36] Yeah, okay. And when, like, I'm so new to aged care. Like- Mm ... I know with like, for example, I have taken some paid parental leave while I'm on mat leave, so I've done that through, they do that through Centrelink.

[00:08:51] Is it called aged care? Or like how do people sign up for this or learn more about what are the, the different tiers?

[00:08:58] Yeah, so the starting point for all of this is what's called My Aged Care.

[00:09:03] My Aged Care.

[00:09:04] So that's- Which is- ... the government body that's- Oh ... responsible for doing assessments, providing you with information.

[00:09:11] I guess that's the kind of source of truth- Mm-hmm ... if you like, for all the different things that are available. But where it can get tricky is working out what does this actually mean-

[00:09:23] Yeah ...

[00:09:23] for

[00:09:24] me. Yeah.

[00:09:24] But the one thing I would say is because that's your starting point, My Aged Care is your starting point, and they will organize your aged care assessment.

[00:09:34] Mm-hmm.

[00:09:34] That's something, because that is essentially like a passport for aged care-

[00:09:39] Mm-hmm ...

[00:09:39] that's something you want to prepare for. Okay. So understand what's going to happen, understand the sorts of questions that are going to be asked, like what can't you do for yourself, what do you need help to do, what types of services do you think would benefit you.

[00:09:54] Yeah.

[00:09:54] And have answers ready for that. Unfortunately, a lot of people in that assessment, they sort of do the, the typical Aussie thing and say, "Oh, I'm fine. I don't really need much help." And that doesn't really help when it comes time to getting those services delivered. Mm. Because at the moment, the wait time's about a year, so from the time you get your assessment done to the time you start getting the services you need-

[00:10:19] Wow

[00:10:19] there's about a year gap. And if you've kind of downplayed how much care you need today-

[00:10:25] Yeah ...

[00:10:25] then the odds are you're really going to not be getting anywhere near enough care in a year's time. So I'm not saying people should ham it up- Yeah ... but people should absolutely be honest about that. And that's why it's good to sit down perhaps with a family member.

[00:10:40] Yeah ...

[00:10:41] and talk about, well, what are the things that I'm struggling to do? What help do I need to help me to keep living independently?

[00:10:47] Yeah. And what age can someone kind of access that service?

[00:10:51] Well, you need to be over the age of 65- Okay ... or over the age of 55 if you're Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

[00:10:58] But fundamentally, the assessment is based on your care needs.

[00:11:02] Yeah. Okay. So in an ideal world, let's say my mum's getting elderly. I sit down with her and I say- Mm-hmm ... "Hey, what... Let's look at, okay, you're gonna stay at home. What are the kind of things you need help with?" And then, what is it then? I go onto My Aged Care and then find those things and sign her up to them?

[00:11:23] Is that, like, in simple terms, is that how it works?

[00:11:26] It's a good idea to sit down and have a chat with her in exactly the way that you're talking about. So in a with you rather than to you-

[00:11:34] Yeah ...

[00:11:34] kind of vibe. But My Aged Care is the starting point for the assessment, and the government funding flows from that assessment.

[00:11:43] Okay. So your mom might be, as part of that assessment, considered to be eligible for support at home. She might be considered to be eligible for some home modifications. Uh-huh. So it might be that her bathroom needs to be modified or her kitchen needs to be modified to make it safe. She might also, as part of that assessment, be approved for respite in an aged care home.

[00:12:05] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:05] And even permanent entry in an aged care home. So in that assessment, I often, uh, liken it to a passport. I say to people, "You wanna get as many of those boxes ticked as possible- Mm-hmm ... so that you have as much flexibility."

[00:12:19] Yeah.

[00:12:19] Just because the box is ticked doesn't mean you have to use the service.

[00:12:23] Okay. Yeah.

[00:12:24] It just means that if you do, the government funding will flow to the provider.

[00:12:29] Okay. And then so what do you do with your business? Do you help people go through this?

[00:12:34] Uh, so we have a few different parts to our business. Okay. But one part is a national network of financial advisors-

[00:12:40] Yeah ...

[00:12:40] that help people to understand what is this gonna cost, what are the pension implications, how does that impact on the co-contributions, all of those sorts of things, whether or not they should restructure their assets for different outcomes, all of those sorts of things.

[00:12:54] Okay. Fantastic. 'Cause I guess for a lot of people, they're better off to maybe sell the family home and then use it to pay for aged care rather than keeping it, in some situations.

[00:13:06] Well, not necessarily.

[00:13:08] Right. Yeah.

[00:13:08] So now I guess what you're talking about is how do you fund the move into residential aged care.

[00:13:14] Yeah.

[00:13:14] That's a different kind of thing. Mm-hmm. So with residential aged care, you've got two different groups of people. You've got people that are classified as what's called low means. Mm-hmm. So they're financially disadvantaged. They have assets below about $216,000 and they're typically full pensioners.

[00:13:33] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:33] So they have some or all of their accommodation costs subsidized by the government as well as their ongoing care costs. Most people are what's called market price payers. Mm. So they pay the market price to the aged care home for their accommodation. And then they can pay a couple of different means-tested fees, one being a hoteling fee- Mm-hmm

[00:13:54] and the other one being a non-clinical care contribution.

[00:13:58] And is that the RAD and the DAP?

[00:14:01] So if we think about it as accommodation and care-

[00:14:05] Yeah ...

[00:14:05] how you pay for your accommodation is up to you, and you can choose to pay by lump sum, which is the RAD, refundable accommodation deposit.

[00:14:13] Okay.

[00:14:14] Or you can pay by daily payment, which is the DAP- Okay

[00:14:17] daily accommodation payment, and that's calculated based on any RAD that you haven't paid.

[00:14:24] Okay.

[00:14:25] So ... And you can choose where you draw that line. Mm-hmm. So let's say the RAD was $750,000.

[00:14:31] Wow.

[00:14:32] You might choose to pay $250,000- Mm-hmm ... by RAD, and pay the other $500,000 by DAP, which would cost you about $40,000 a year.

[00:14:42] The DAP sits at roughly about 8%.

[00:14:45] Oh, okay. And is that how expensive aged care is? We're talking like 700- Uh,

[00:14:51] it can be, it can be more or less than that, but a lot of ... So the government in January last year increased what's called the market price cap Which is the price that they're allowed to charge without getting government approval, and they increased that price to $750,000.

[00:15:09] Oof.

[00:15:10] So you do find, particularly in the metropolitan cities, you do find a lot of prices at around that $750,000 mark. But- Mm ... if you're living in aged care and you have Sydney Harbour Bridge views, then your aged care could easily cost you two or even $3 million.

[00:15:27] Yeah, okay. Wow. Okay. So that is- So that's your accommodation

[00:15:29] accommodation. Okay.

[00:15:29] Mm-hmm.

[00:15:34] And then the other side we were looking at, the actual-

[00:15:37] The ongoing cost of care.

[00:15:40] Okay.

[00:15:41] Yeah. So everyone pays, when it comes to the ongoing cost of care, everyone pays a basic daily fee-

[00:15:47] Yeah ...

[00:15:47] which is set at 85% of the pension. Okay. So it's roughly $68 a day at the moment. Yeah. And then beyond that, you pay two different means-tested fees, one being a hoteling fee-

[00:16:00] Yeah

[00:16:00] up to about $22 a day.

[00:16:02] Okay.

[00:16:02] And one being a non-clinical care contribution.

[00:16:07] Wow, okay. God, it's a lot to get your head around, isn't it? And

[00:16:10] it, there's lots of different, if you like, buckets. And then I guess the other important bucket is that that's for the kind of mandatory care and services.

[00:16:21] Yeah.

[00:16:21] If you're living in an aged care home where they're offering you extras, so it could be, you know, hot meals, it could be a glass of wine with your dinner, it could be Foxtel on your TV, could be hairdressing, newspapers, whatever-

[00:16:36] Yeah

[00:16:36] then you'll generally find that there's another fee on the top called a higher everyday living fee.

[00:16:41] Okay.

[00:16:42] And that's a user pays fee. So you can opt in and opt out of that fee, but that can certainly add another... $30 is pretty typical- Yeah ... but you can certainly get a very high higher everyday living fee, depending on whether or not you're living in something that rivals a six-star Hilton, you know?

[00:16:59] Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So what are the mistakes you're seeing Aussies make when it comes to aged care?

[00:17:06] I think there's a few mistakes. I think the biggest mistake people make when it comes to home care is they think it's going to be like Uber Eats. Yeah. So they, they wait- Mm ... to put their hand up and say, "I need aged care," because they think the system is going to be really responsive.

[00:17:22] And a lot of them think, "Well, I'm not ready yet."

[00:17:25] Yeah.

[00:17:25] And the reality is that it's the opposite. Like I said before, if you pop your hand up today, the odds are you won't be getting the care that you're assessed as needing today- Mm-hmm ... for another year's time.

[00:17:36] Okay.

[00:17:36] So that's the biggest mistake I see in home care.

[00:17:40] The, the biggest mistake we see for people moving into residential aged care is that they think they have to sell the family home. Mm. And there's lots of very good reasons why that might not be a good idea. Okay. So a couple of them are that your home is exempt from your pension assets for as long as your spouse lives there.

[00:18:00] Okay.

[00:18:01] And for two years if you don't have a spouse, for two years after you move into aged care. So it won't count towards your pension for that two-year period, and whether or not that two-year period starts today or when your spouse leaves will just depend on, on who's living there. Mm-hmm. Your house is not included in the aged care means test if a protected person is living there.

[00:18:24] So a protected person includes your spouse, but in some situations it can also include a carer or a close relative who's been living in the home. So making that decision to sell the home might not be the best decision. The other thing is that even when your home is included in the aged care means test, it's only included up to about $216,000.

[00:18:47] So let's say your house was worth $1.2 million. You're essentially getting a million dollars of it exempted from the aged care means test if you keep it. Whereas if you sell it whatever you do with the money, even if you put that money into the RAD it will be included in the aged care means test.

[00:19:05] So you'll be taxed at a higher amount?

[00:19:06] It's not taxed, it's just- Oh, not taxed ... how they calculate your, um, co-contribution.

[00:19:10] You- you'd be- Yeah, exactly ... be calculated a higher amount. So can you walk, and again, uh, playing like worst case scenario here, get a call, "My father has suddenly needs urgent aged care. They've had a fall- Mm ... and they can no longer live at home."

[00:19:26] Mm. Can you just walk through the steps someone should take when that parent needs, like, sudden care? What

[00:19:32] needs to happen? Yeah. And this is how most Australians plan for aged care, right? Mm. Yeah. They, uh, stick their head in the sand and then- Yeah ... wait and get a phone call from the hospital- Yeah ... that says, "Something's happened.

[00:19:43] Mum or dad have come to the hospital and now it's not safe for them to go home."

[00:19:47] Yeah.

[00:19:47] And the last bit of that conversation is they say, "And now you have 48 hours to find an aged care bed that you would be happy with."

[00:19:56] Yeah.

[00:19:56] Uh, and if you don't find one, we'll help you find one. Mm-hmm. Now, that's where it gets tough because most people are not planning ahead for aged care.

[00:20:06] They haven't done any research on where they would like to go.

[00:20:10] Yeah.

[00:20:10] And in that 48-hour period, the bed that you can take is the bed that's empty. And-

[00:20:15] Yeah ... at

[00:20:16] the moment, most aged care homes are full. Yeah. So if you want to have greater choice in which aged care home you go to, firstly I would say respite is obviously a great way to give carers a break, but it's also a great way to try before you buy in residential aged care.

[00:20:33] Okay. What

[00:20:33] is respite?

[00:20:35] So respite's when you have a temporary stay. Okay. You, you move into the residential aged care home for, like, two or three weeks normally.

[00:20:43] Okay, yep.

[00:20:44] While your carer has a holiday or- Mm-hmm ... it might be, if it's a husband and wife, it might be that the carer needs to have an operation or have some sort of medical treatment themselves.

[00:20:53] Yeah. Okay.

[00:20:54] So, and respite's super cheap. You don't have to pay an accommodation payment in respite.

[00:21:00] Okay.

[00:21:00] Uh, and you don't pay means tested fees. So it's, it's really affordable. But it's also a great way to work out if, in the future, you do find yourself in hospital needing to make a very quick decision about which aged care home that you're going to move to-

[00:21:17] Yeah

[00:21:18] you've kind of got an idea about which one, or have a shortlist of which ones might suit you.

[00:21:23] Yeah. Okay.

[00:21:25] I think that's the biggest mistake. No one's planning for aged care, and on one hand, I get it, but on the other hand, it's one of those things that you then have to realize if that comes up, you're going to be in a position where you just have to take what's available at that particular point in time.

[00:21:42] And in fairness, most of the aged care homes are full, and that's why we have about 3,000 older Australians stranded in hospitals waiting for an aged care bed. Wow. '

[00:21:51] Cause I was gonna say, what happens to them? They must be stuck in hospital.

[00:21:54] Yeah. Uh. Or families move in, or they move in with family- Yeah ... to get the care they need.

[00:21:59] Yeah.

[00:21:59] So what is three things people can do this week to be more prepared for their parents' aged care?

[00:22:05] Well, do the hardest bit, which is start the conversation. Yeah. And speak to your mum or dad and say, "Hey, have you thought about this? What would you like?" Yeah. "Should we look at what your options are?"

[00:22:17] Unfortunately, a lot of people don't look at... Like, their, their initial response will be, "Well, I'm going to stay at home." Yeah. But they've never- Well- ... looked at their home through the eyes of someone who needs care. So kind of put on the care goggles and look- Yeah ... at your home through that lens and work out, well, how safe is it?

[00:22:37] How practical is... Will you- Yeah ... actually be able to get care in that home? Because little things like doorways can make that very difficult and, in some cases, impossible.

[00:22:47] Yeah. And I imagine steps as well.

[00:22:49] Yeah. Stairs can be a really big thing.

[00:22:52] And kind of like what a- 'cause like I guess it's such a range, like I look at my parents, they're fitter than they were at 50.

[00:22:58] Like, they're so fit right now, and then I look at other parents' friends and I'm like, "Oh, they should be having that conversation." But is there like an age where you go, ah, maybe like when they hit 70 or when they hit 80? Like, is there an age where you're like, "You should have this conversation"?

[00:23:14] No. I think a lot of aged care creeps up on- Mm-hmm

[00:23:18] families because they don't talk about it. It looks like oftentimes within couples, it's one person compensating for the other person, but perhaps not even realizing that they're doing it.

[00:23:30] Yeah.

[00:23:30] And then you get that spread out to the wider family. So, you know, kids start mowing the lawns, kids start doing the grocery shopping.

[00:23:38] Yeah.

[00:23:39] All of these sorts of things, kids start driving them to appointments. All of these things indicate to someone like me, this person should be applying for home care, because these are all things that are services that could be government funded. Yeah. But a lot of people won't apply at that point.

[00:23:57] They leave it until there's a real, like, dire need or until those, that carer or those carers are not able to do it.

[00:24:06] Mm.

[00:24:07] And they don't realize that the system just, you're going on holidays next week, you're going to Europe for a month. Yeah. And that's lovely for you, but it's going to take more than a month for us to get the care that your mum or dad needs.

[00:24:19] So oftentimes that's where people just get private carers.

[00:24:22] Yeah. Wow, this has been very eye-opening. And just my final two questions, what question should you ask an aged care provider before signing anything? Are there any, like, watch out warnings or anything?

[00:24:35] I think when it comes to questions to ask, you want to understand if you're talking about home care, how many carers are there in your area?

[00:24:44] How far are people going to need to come from to give you the care that you need? Are there minimum shifts? So sometimes home care can only be provided in a minimum shift of, say, two hours because- Okay ... the home care providers have got requirements around the workers getting a minimum of a two-hour shift.

[00:25:06] So- I see ... if that obligation is going to be passed on to you, you need to understand that because if you're trying to get, let's say, a shower every day, and you're- Mm ... having to pay for two hours of care through that provider just to get a shower every day, that's going to be a really expensive shower.

[00:25:24] Yeah.

[00:25:24] Again. So understanding sort of the access to the care workers I think is really important. In residential aged care, there's a lot more information available with star ratings. You can also- Yeah ... ask where they sit with their care minutes, so how many minutes of care on average are being delivered per resident.

[00:25:44] But-

[00:25:44] Yeah ...

[00:25:45] I think the greatest test when it comes to residential aged care, personally for me, is I would always go and visit at mealtime and- Thank you ... just see what it's like, see what the other residents are like, see what the food's like, see what the carers are like. All of those sorts of things are going to give you...

[00:26:03] I mean, it's not the same as a respite stay. A respite stay will give you the best indication of what it's like. Mm-hmm.

[00:26:10] Yeah,

[00:26:10] of course. But at least visiting at a mealtime, you're getting a good indication. The other thing I would do is if I was thinking about moving a loved one into residential aged care, I'd want to understand how my loved one's care needs- fit with the other residents.

[00:26:27] Okay. So for example, if my l- loved one didn't have dementia or cognition-related care needs, but everyone else in the aged care home did, that probably wouldn't be the best aged care home for them, even though it might be in the best location for me to come and visit, for example.

[00:26:43] Yeah. Okay. Wow. So much to unpack there.

[00:26:48] But thank you so much for giving us such a good starting point. Sure. As I said, this is the first time we've tackled this topic at Ladies Finance Club, but I know it's gonna be a really important conversation many women need to have with their parents. And not an easy conversation as well, I imagine.

[00:27:04] Yeah, no. But like I said before, just start with that with you rather than to you-

[00:27:09] Mm-hmm ...

[00:27:10] approach, and it really can make the world of difference.

[00:27:13] And Rachel, if people wanna get in contact with you, where can they find you?

[00:27:17] So I've written a bestselling book with Noel Whittaker called Downsizing Made Simple.

[00:27:22] Great. So you can jump on that website. There's lots of great free resources. There's calculators, there's the exercises we were talking about earlier about ingoing, ongoing, outgoing, all of those things, and people can just send me an email from there if they want to.

[00:27:36] Great. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today.

[00:27:39] Thanks for having me.

 

KEYWORDS
Aged Care Australia, Elderly Care, Retirement Planning, Home Care, Residential Aged Care, Financial Planning, Care Costs, My Aged Care