Your Simple Guide: How to Organise Aged Care for Your Parents

Nobody teaches you how to organise aged care for a parent. If you’re an adult child feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start – this step-by-step guide is for you.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the School of Life, there’s no subject called ‘How to Organise Aged Care for Your Parents.’ No handbook arrives when your dad gets discharged from hospital and suddenly can’t manage the stairs, or when your mum starts forgetting her medication for the third time this week.

It’s tough, And no matter how prepared you’d like to feel, no one could ever prepare you for this moment.

One day you’re their child. The next, you’re Googling things like ‘ACAT assessment’ and ‘Support at Home eligibility’ at midnight, wondering how on earth this became your job – and whether you’re already too late.

If this sounds like you, please take a deep breath. You’re not too late. You’re not behind. And you’re definitely not the only one sitting here feeling overwhelmed. In Julia’s case, this process had her feeling “burnt out” and isolated… until she found CareAbout.

So, rest assured, you’ve come to the right place. To help you organise quality aged care for your loved ones, we’ve put together the following step-by-step guide (without any confusing terms or fancy jargon) for when you’re starting from scratch and needing to just take it all one step at a time.

Step 1: Recognise That Something Has Changed

Before the forms and the phone calls, there’s usually a moment. A fall. A hospital stay. A fridge full of expired food. A conversation where Mum repeats the same story three times and doesn’t realise.

Sometimes it’s not one moment – it’s a slow accumulation of small things that eventually becomes impossible to ignore.

Here’s what’s important: Noticing doesn’t make you disloyal. Worrying about your parent’s safety isn’t a betrayal of their independence. It’s love paying attention.

You don’t need a crisis to start exploring aged care options. In fact, starting early, before things get urgent, gives you more choices and less panic, especially since waiting for an initial Aged Care Assessment (ACAT) can take up to six weeks.

Step 2: Have the Conversation (Even If It’s Hard)

This is the step most people dread. And honestly? It can go badly. Your parent/s might get defensive. They might insist they’re fine. They might even get angry, because accepting help means accepting that something has changed (or they feel defeated) – and that can be frightening.

A few things that can help:

• Lead with what you’ve noticed, not what you’ve decided: ‘I noticed you haven’t been cooking much lately – is everything okay?’ works better than ‘I think you need a carer.’
• Frame it around their goals, not your fears: ‘What would help you stay in this house longer?’ gives them agency and helps them to feel in greater control of their care, which is crucial.
• Don’t try to solve everything in one conversation: Plant the seed, come back to it, and let them sit with it.
• Bring a sibling or trusted person if that helps you: But be careful in doing so that it doesn’t feel like an ambush.

And if the conversation doesn’t go well the first time? That’s okay. This isn’t a negotiation you win. It’s a door you gently keep open.

Step 3: Register With My Aged Care

This is where the practical part begins. My Aged Care is the Australian Government’s gateway to aged care services. Everything flows through it – assessments, funding, provider matching.

You can register either:

• Online: Simply visit myagedcare.gov.au (you’ll need your parent’s Medicare card)
• By phone: Simply call 1800 200 422 (staff can walk you through your initial ACAT application)

You can register on behalf of your parent – you don’t need their permission to start the process, though they’ll need to be involved for the assessment.

Please note: When making a phone call to My Aged Care, it can be a long wait. It might be worth calling mid-morning on a weekday if possible when it’s usually less busy, and remember to have your parent’s Medicare number, date of birth, and a rough idea of what kind of help they need.

Step 4: Prepare for the Aged Care Assessment

After registration, your parent will be referred for an assessment. This is where a trained health professional, usually a nurse, occupational therapist (OT), or social worker, visits your parent (typically at home) to understand what help they need.

The wait is usually 2 to 6 weeks. The assessment itself takes 1 to 3 hours.

This is a big moment, and it matters how your parent presents on the day. The single biggest mistake families make? Downplaying their difficulties. Your parent might tidy the house, put on their best clothes, and insist they’re managing fine. It’s human, but it can result in a lower classification and less funding than they actually need.

Your role as their adult child is to gently, honestly support the truth. You can attend the assessment with them (and we’d encourage it). You can help describe what you’ve been observing – the falls, the missed medications, the meals that aren’t happening.

We’ve written a detailed guide on navigating your ACAT assessment and 7 tips for making the most of it to provide further tips and guidance on how to prepare for this.

Step 5: Understand What Funding Your Parent Receives

After the assessment, the system determines your parent’s Support at Home Classification, where a funding amount is allocated from one of eight levels. The available funding ranges from around $10,731 per year (Classification 1) to $78,106.35 per year (Classification 8), and is strictly dependent on the outcome of your ACAT assessment.

Once you receive your classification letter, you’ll need to choose a provider and start organising services. This is where a lot of families feel a fresh wave of overwhelm, because now you’re comparing providers, understanding what each fee actually means, and figuring out whether to self-manage or use a fully-managed provider.

A few things worth knowing:

• A capped 10% of your parent’s quarterly budget goes towards care management – that’s standard.
• Unused funds (up to $1,000 or 10% of the quarterly budget) can roll over – whichever amount is greater.
• Funding can cover personal care, nursing, allied health, domestic help, community access, and more.
• You’re not locked in – you can switch providers if things aren’t working.

And of course, CareAbout is help you to navigate all of these factors throughout your loved one’s aged care journey. Everywhere from finding your loved one a trusted, quality and vetted provider, to allowing them to seamlessly switch providers with no disruption to their care, we’re here to CareAbout you.

If the classification doesn’t feel right, if it doesn’t match what you’re seeing at home – your parent has the right to request a review. Don’t accept a result that doesn’t reflect reality.

Step 6: Choose a Provider (and Know You Can Change Your Mind)

This step trips up a lot of first-timers. There are hundreds of aged care providers across Australia, and they’re not all the same. Fees vary. Quality varies. Communication varies.

Here’s what to look for:

• Transparency: Do they clearly explain their fees, or is it buried in fine print?
• Flexibility: Can your parent change their care plan as needs evolve?
• Communication: Will you have a named contact person, or will you be calling a 1300 number and hoping for the best?
• Reputation: Check the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission for compliance history

This is something CareAbout can help with. We vet providers so you don’t have to wade through hundreds of options alone. A Care Adviser can talk through your parent’s needs and match you with providers who are actually a good fit – not just the ones with the biggest marketing budget.

And remember: choosing a provider isn’t a permanent decision. If it’s not working, you can switch.

Step 7: Look After Yourself Too

This is the step that adult children always skip. So we’re putting it here deliberately.

Organising aged care for a parent is emotionally exhausting. You’re making decisions you were never trained for, often whilst juggling your own family, work, and life. You might be dealing with siblings who disagree, a parent who resists help, or a system that feels designed to confuse you.

That’s a lot to carry.

If you’re struggling, Carer Gateway (1800 422 737) offers free counselling, respite, and practical support for carers, including adult children who are coordinating care. You don’t need to be providing hands-on care to qualify. If you’re the one making the calls, doing the research, and lying awake worrying – you’re a carer.

You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone

The aged care system is complicated. That’s not your fault. It’s a system that has been reformed, restructured, and renamed so many times that even the people who work inside it struggle to keep up.

But here’s the thing: You don’t need to become an expert. You just need to know enough to take the next step – and to know where to turn when you get stuck…and that’s where CareAbout comes in.

If you’re at the start of this journey and would like someone to walk you through it, please talk to one of our dedicated Care Advisers. It’s a free conversation – no commitment, no sales pitch. Just a real person who knows the system and can help you figure out what comes next.

On a final note, please know, you’re doing a great job, even on those days that don’t feel like it.