Residential aged care is designed for:

• older persons who can no longer live independently in their own home
• younger persons with a disability, dementia or other special care needs that are not met through other specialist services.

The first step when considering moving into a residential aged care facility is to undergo an assessment with an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) or an Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS) if you reside in Victoria.

An ACAT (or ACAS) assessor can determine and approve your eligibility for a residential aged care facility.

In addition, if you are not deemed eligible for entrance to a residential aged care facility, an ACAT (or ACAS) assessor may be able to suggest other options. For example, you may instead be eligible to receive care at home via either a Commonwealth Home Support Programme or Home Care Package.