Home Care with Baptcare
Live your best life, at home.
As well as supporting our community with Retirement Living and Aged Care Homes, Baptcare also offers you a range of Home Care Services.
Underpinned by our Well-Living principles, our Home Care services can help you live your best possible life at home.
The difference between living and living well
What is Home Care?
Home Care is a range of professional services for people who love their home and their community but need some support to stay there.
Home Care services can help you to stay living at home, to manage chronic health issues and to recover from a medical setback. They can also provide support if you have special needs or a disability.
Depending on your needs, professional caregivers such as nurses and allied health staff can also provide short-term or longterm care in your home.
Home Care services include:
y Personal care such as help with bathing, washing your hair and getting dressed
y Household chores such as cleaning, laundry and gardening
y Occupational therapists, physiotherapists and nursing at home
y Transport to appointments, social groups, events and places you enjoy.
Home Care Programs
The Australian Government provides subsidised Home Care services through the Commonwealth Home Support Program and Support at Home. Private Home Care services are also available for older people who do not wish to use, or are ineligible for Government funded services.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Support at Home you must be aged 65 years or older. If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, homeless or at risk of being homeless you must be aged 50 years or older.
1. Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
If you are having trouble with everyday tasks and feel that a little support could improve your health and wellbeing, the Commonwealth Home Support Program may suit you.
This entry level program is designed to assist you to maintain your independence whilst providing support where you need a little help. Support can include help with daily tasks, transport, social support, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and home modifications.
Costs
The Government covers most of the cost of care but you are expected to contribute if you can afford to. The cost varies with the type of support provided.
2. Support at Home (SaH)
The Support at Home program may be more appropriate if you have care needs that go beyond what the Commonwealth Home Support Program can support. Support at Home provides government funding for both ongoing and short term support in your home through 8 funding classifications and 3 short term pathways. It also has 4 additional classifications for individuals with current Home Care Packages who are transitioning to the Support at Home program.
* as at November 2025
There are three main service categories under Support at Home:
Service Category
1
2
Independence: Support to manage activities of daily living and loss of skills or function to live independently
Everyday Living: Support to keep your home in a liveable state and support your independence at home
Service Type
Personal care, social support & community engagement, therapeutic services, respite, transport, assistive technology, home modifications
Domestic assistance, shopping assistance, home maintenance (including light gardening) & home repairs, and meals (preparation and/or delivery)
3 Clinical Supports: Specialised services to maintain or regain functional and/or cognitive capabilities Nursing, most allied health, nutrition, care management and restorative care management
There are also three short term support pathways, including:
y The Restorative Care Pathway (RCP): improving your independence through allied health services
y The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme: access to products, equipment and home modifications
y The End-of-Life Pathway: extra funding to support older people to stay at home in their last 3 months of life.
Services
A dedicated Care Facilitator works with each client to design a suite of services which may include:
y Domestic assistance such as cleaning, washing and ironing
y Personal care assistance with bathing, dressing and toileting
y Transport for shopping and appointments
y Social support such as shopping and company
y Allied Health services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, exercise programs and podiatry
y Home maintenance, home modifications and lawn mowing
y Nursing care including dressing a wound or continence advice
y Preparing and storing food, or organising a suitable meals service.
Costs
The cost of care will be split between the individual and the Government through the payment of co-contribution. Your contribution will be determined based on an income-tested fee.
You can read more about the fees, caps, and how to use your package funds at www.myagedcare.gov.au
3. Privately Funded Services
While waiting for funded care, or if you are not eligible for funding, Baptcare can support you with the help you need by providing experienced, well-trained care workers at competitive rates.
Our Home Care Services
The principles of wellness and reablement underpin the planning and provision of our Home Care Services.
Our Well-Living approach is designed to help you to achieve your personal goals so that you can live your best possible life at home.
Wellness and reablement
A wellness approach involves planning and delivering supports that build on your strengths, abilities and aspirations and encourages actions that promote independence.
Reablement is goal oriented and time limited, and aims to assist you to adapt to a recent change, or to regain confidence and the capacity to resume desired activities.
By connecting you with aged care experts, Baptcare at home enables you to optimise your abilities and live your life to the fullest.
With Baptcare at home, our approach to wellness and reablement will help you to picture what is actually possible, and then achieve it.
Our Home Care services are designed to help you achieve your personal goals, so you can live your best possible life.
The difference between living and living well
Think Well Be Well Connect Well
Our Well-Living framework represents a commitment by Baptcare at home to focus on each client’s wellness and reablement goals. It provides a wide range of options, based around our three main areas –Be Well, Think Well and Connect Well.
Baptcare client app
The Baptcare app is designed to simplify and enhance communication between clients, their families, and our team.
Our Baptcare app is available at no cost to all clients with smartphones or mobile devices.
Request handling:
Easily send requests directly to the Baptcare team.
Social feed:
Stay informed with a feed of news, updates, and events from Baptcare. Download our new app
Service schedule management:
View and manage your service schedule.
Family & contacts integration:
Invite family members and other contacts to the app.
Practical care for healthy living
Be Well includes a range of practical services to help support your everyday health and wellbeing.
Daily Living
y Personal care
y Meal preparation
y Housekeeping
y Community transport
y Support with shopping
y Garden care
y Home maintenance
y Home modifications.
Health
y In-home nursing
y Allied health – physio, occupational therapy
y Pain management
y Medication monitoring
y Managing pressure injuries
y Wound management
y Nutrition advice
y Chronic disease management
y Support with continence needs
y Behavioural strategies and support
y Health monitoring and education
y Home exercise program
y Falls prevention
y End of life care at home.
Other services are also available and can be tailored to meet your individual needs.
Creative care for emotional health and wellbeing
Think Well includes a range of services and activities to help support your emotional and cognitive health and wellbeing.
Healthy Mind
y Learning how to connect online with friends and family
y Brain training
y Creative activities including journaling and painting
y Learning a language
y Playing a game
y Resuming or learning a hobby
y Dementia care and memory support.
Emotional Health
y Respite for Carers
y Carer Support
y Relaxation Activities
y Stress Management
y Mindfulness Activities.
Other services are also available and can be tailored to meet your individual needs.
Inclusive care for social and spiritual wellbeing
Connect Well includes a range of services and activities to help bring people together to support social interaction and spiritual wellness.
Social
y Transport and support to social activities, concerts and family events
y Carer support
y Physical activities
y Social club
y Seniors groups
y Transport with a companion
y Overnight respite care.
Spiritual
y Pastoral care
y Visiting places of worship
y Chaplaincy visits
y Transport to religious practices
y Self-reflection support
y Technology group
y Technology private sessions
y Spending time in nature.
Other services are also available and can be tailored to meet your individual needs.
Nursing at home
Baptcare at home nurses partner with you to provide effective, quality, client-centred clinical care.
Delivered by qualified Registered and Enrolled Nurses, our nursing care works closely with you and your family to manage health needs and promote wellbeing.
Nursing provides short-term or ongoing care at home. From treatment, condition monitoring, injury prevention, and education to managing more complex needs such as chronic disease, dementia, medication and wound care,
continence support, post-operative recovery, pain management, and palliative care.
This service is funded by Support at Home and Commonwealth Home Support Program.
Chaplaincy Care
Chaplains can offer:
y A listening ear
y A compassionate presence
y Confidential assistance
y Prayer, sacrament and other religious rituals
y End of life planning support
y Help in times of change, grief, loss, loneliness or hurt and disappointment.
y Assistance in telling your story
Chaplains are open-minded and approachable people who love God and love other people.
The chaplains who work at Baptcare have been trained to
respond to the individual needs clients and families – there is no matter too big or small.
Our chaplains are here to support you through life’s challenges and experiences, whatever your beliefs and how ever you express your spirituality. They’ll spend time getting to know you and listening to what matters most to you.
To enquire, please contact us on 1300 275 227 or email info@baptistcare.org.au
Dementia advisory service
Our dementia advisors provide free support to people living with dementia and their carers.
Our goal is to provide our clients with the appropriate tools and information to live their best life, and to feel supported throughout their journey.
Individually tailored plans may include:
y Support to navigate the Aged Care system
y Information to support a better understanding of dementia
y Advice and strategies around living well with dementia
y Support and connection with other individuals and carers experiencing life with dementia.
This service is funded by the Commonwealth Home Support Program.
Occupational
therapy & physiotherapy
Our physiotherapists and occupational therapists work with you to help you achieve your personal wellbeing and lifestyle goals. These goals are developed according to your needs, wishes and abilities.
Occupational therapy services include recommendations for devices and aids to make tasks safer and easier.
Physiotherapy services include strength training and mobility.
This service is funded by Support at Home and Commonwealth Home Support Program.
Home modification & maintenance
We’re here to help you with everyday household repairs, maintenance, allied health assessment and home modification.
We provide modifications support at home to those unable to perform maintenance tasks or where it has become a safety issue to do so.
Maintenance support includes:
y Gutter and window cleaning
y Trade services such as plumbing and electrical
y Gardening
y Allied health
y Assessments for modifications including bathroom and kitchen modifications, grab rails, stair lifts etc.
Social clubs
Come together with local seniors and enjoy an engaging activity program with quality care.
We provide a welcoming space for over-65s to get together and enjoy a fun, engaging program of recreational activities.
Our Social Clubs typically run throughout the week, from midmorning until mid-afternoon, and are facilitated by a team of caring, trained staff who will make you feel welcome from the moment you arrive.
y Respite for caregivers
y Local community excursions
y Nutritious meals provided
y Transport to most social clubs.
Palliative Care at home
Every person’s experience is different. By listening to your needs, we can provide a personalised care program at your home. For family, and those in a caring role.
Palliative care supports people with a life-limiting or terminal illness to live their lives as actively and as comfortably as possible
Our palliative care teams focus on managing the person’s symptoms and pain. We spend a lot of time with the family, providing emotional support and respite. And while palliative care is often associated with a hospital or hospice setting, it can also be delivered in the comfort of your own home.
The benefits of palliative care at home
Palliative care can create a peaceful, nurturing, and safe environment for a person to spend their last weeks of life. But it can also have benefits long before this end-of-life phase arrives. It’s often better to access palliative care services earlier, it means that the person’s pain relief and symptoms can be managed well from the start.
If you are at the beginning of your or your loved one’s palliative care journey, our team are here to help you.
How to access Home Care
Finding out how to access Government-funded Home Care can be confusing. Reading through all the information, making sense of the various funding options available and finding out if you’re eligible can sometimes be very stressful. Here are five simple steps to help you access Home Care.
STEP 1: Register
To register, call the government service, My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or visit them online at www.myagedcare.gov.au
Baptcare can also help you to navigate the My Aged Care system as it can sometimes be complicated.
STEP 2: Be assessed
Next, a My Aged Care assessor will either discuss your situation over the phone or come to your home to assess the level of assistance you need. If you just need some basic or short term assistance with things like looking after your housework, personal care or shopping you may be approved for funded help via the Commonwealth Home Support Program .
If your needs are more complex, you will be approved for Support at Home at a classification between 1 and 8, with classification 8 being the highest. While you are waiting for funded care or if you are not eligible for funding, we can also support you with private Home Care at competitive rates.
STEP 3: Wait for funding
Funding packages can take a while so may have to wait several months for your initial funding to come through. Baptcare can usually support people with services funded via the Commonwealth Home Support Program while they wait for their package to be assigned to them.
STEP 4: Choose a provider
Once your funding comes through, you will receive a letter saying your package has been ‘assigned’.
Now you can choose a provider such as Baptcare to deliver your Home Care services – we can manage all the paperwork from there.
STEP 5: Choose how you use your funding
Now you can decide how you would like to use your Home Care funding. Remember, you have complete control over what services you choose. With the help of your dedicated Care Facilitator, take your time and choose the services that are most important to you so that you can live your best possible life in the comfort of your own home. Start enjoying the benefits of your Home Care services at home with your trusted provider.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. Can I receive Home Care services without having to go through an assessment or eligibility testing?
A. In order to receive Government funding towards your home care, you will need to first contact the My Aged Care service to discuss your needs with one of their consultants. Depending on your individual situation, further assessment may either be conducted over the phone or in person in your home.
If you are approved for Support at Home, a further financial assessment must be undertaken via Services Australia to determine if a meanstested co-contribution will be required.
If you would like to receive Home Care services without Government funding, no external assessments are required and Baptcare is still able to provide the full range of professional, high quality supports under a privately funded arrangement.
Q. How can my Support at Home funds be used?
A. Support at Home funds can only be used on goods and services that are directly connected to enabling someone to continue to live at home safely and maintain their health and wellbeing. Our Care Facilitators work individually with each person to understand their specific goals and care needs, and note these in an individual Care Plan. Providers are responsible to determine the appropriateness of purchases based on a range of criteria including safety, client needs, scope of the SaH program, SAS assessment, short and long term care goals, available funds, value for money and alternative available resources. Depending on these needs, experts such as Occupational Therapists or GPs may then be involved in determining appropriate equipment, or recommending minor modifications to the home, such as railing, ramps or taps.
Q. Can I change Support at Home Providers?
A. Yes, Support at Home packages are fully transferable, including the balance of any unspent funds you may have. If you are with another provider and would like to move to Baptcare, we can arrange this for you, or the My Aged Care website has a step by step guide.
Q. What happens if my care needs change?
A. If your care needs increase or your circumstances change, you will need a formal reassessment for additional funding for care and services. The Single Assessment Service (SAS), previously known as the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT), will conduct a new assessment of your care needs and may approve you for a new Support at Home classification level.
Q. How will a dedicated Care Facilitator assist me to make the most of Support at Home?
A. The aged care system can be confusing, so our experienced and knowledgeable Care Facilitators act as a personal guide and advocate within the Support at Home system to:
Navigate the System - Provide clarity on the procedures and options available under SaH, helping each client understand their entitlements to make the most of what they are entitled to.
Personalised Care Planning - Work with each client to develop a personalised care plan that aligns with their needs and objectives and draws on the broad network of available options.
Service Coordination and Support - Acts as a central liaison and coordinator, facilitating smooth communication and ensuring the services provided meet the quality we expect.
Advocacy – Work with Government agencies to navigate the system and ensure access to all relevant funding sources and available supports.
Emotional and Practical Support - Offers compassionate support and understanding, providing a trusted point of contact for any concerns or questions.
Crisis Management - Provide assistance during emergencies or crises, ensuring stable continuity of care.
Efficiency - Saves time and money, and reduces stress by having a trusted single point of contact for all care needs. This support enables each individual to make the most of their available SaH funding, enhancing overall wellbeing and quality of life.
CHANGING HOME CARE PROVIDERS?
Not all Home Care Providers are the same. If you’re not receiving the range or quality of services you need, making the change to a reputable and trusted home care provider is easy. Make the switch to Baptcare today in 4 simple steps.
Why choose Baptcare?
We are committed to providing person-centred care that encourages independence and quality of life. Our aim to see every individual “living well” is based on Christian principles that are reflected in all aspects of our purpose, vision, values and services. We have the skills and expertise to look holistically at how we can support each individual to live their best possible life – from those who are still fairly independent, to those with complex needs including dementia and end of life care.
As well as supporting older people in our community, we are here to support families to ensure their loved ones are well cared for and feel safe.
Call 13 22 78
https://www.baptcare.org.au/about-home-care/