The ‘Home Care Today’ project ran from 2013 to June 2017. COTA Australia continues to provide access to Home Care Today resources which were current at June 2017. However they are no longer monitored or updated, and information may not be current.

This guide has been developed by COTA Australia, Home Care Today. Our key focus has been to resource consumers and providers nationally to implement Consumer Directed Care (CDC) in the context of the aged care reforms. The service provider focus has been with the current 504 Home Care Package providers that operate across Australia.

However, many of the resources that we have developed for current providers are relevant to new providers. Hence we conducted a conference for new providers in May 2016 and have identified past, current and new resources that can assist new providers to firstly consider what they need to do to provide Home Care Packages in the new environment of consumer driven care.

The New Providers Kit is a step by step guide that aims to sequentially list and embed the resources that we are aware of for each of the steps that we have identified.

DOWNLOAD our resource: The New Providers Kit

The guide includes:

• Edited versions of the presentations from the New Providers Conference. (Held in May 2016)
• Powerpoint Presentations from the New Providers Conference (converted to pdf format)
• Resources available from the Home Care Today website
• Other links that have been used in introducing new providers to Home Care Packages

The step by step guide covers:

• Applications – Things to Consider
• Understand the context of the Aged Care Reforms
• Understanding the operational manual
• Developing the model – Key considerations
• Understand and develop the case management role
• Understand Consumer Directed Care– The empowered consumer is coming!
• Cost then Price – the move to individual budgets
• Knowing what your niche is!
• Consider Technology and software
• Workforce

View Presentations and Videos

VIEW video: Key Features of delivering Home Care Packages – Ronda Held

VIEW PowerPoint: Introduction to Home Care Packages – Ronda Held

VIEW video: UK Experience of Individual Budgets – Simon Duffy

VIEW PowerPoint: UK Experience of Individual Budgets – Simon Duffy

VIEW video: Understanding the Fundamentals of Home Care Packages – Jonathan Pietsch

VIEW PowerPoint: Understanding the Fundamentals of Home Care Packages – Jonathan Pietsch

VIEW video: The Critical Role of the Case Manager/Advisor – Anna Millicer

VIEW PowerPoint: The Critical Role of the Case Manager – Anna Millicer

VIEW video: Mind the Gap – Iris Brito

VIEW PowerPoint: Mind the Gap – Iris Brito

VIEW video: The Empowered Consumer – Annette Whitmee

VIEW video: Marketing Tips for Expanding into New Markets – Dale Renner

VIEW PowerPoint: Marketing Tips for Expanding into New Markets – Dale Renner

VIEW PowerPoint: Becoming an Approved Provider and Changes to Home Care Packages  – David Laffan

Information for approved providers applying to combine services

A guide to ‘Combining Aged Care Services’ is available on The Department of Health Aged Care website. See link below:

VIEW guide: Combining Aged Care Services

Webinar for New Providers

October 2016

A webinar was held on 6 october 2016 called to discuss the changes to approved home care provider requirements and the associated quality provisions as a result of the Increasing Choice in home care reforms.

It was open to all aged care providers and focused on:

• the new approved provider forms for existing and new providers of aged care
• what to consider when submitting an application form to become an approved provider
• an overview of the changes to approved provider requirements from February 2017
• quality provisions for new home care providers.

VIEW webinar recording: Increasing Choice in Home Care- approved provider requirements and quality provisions