Before we explain more about the different levels of Home Care Packages and how you can benefit from the services these packages fund, let’s first understand what a Home Care Package is:  

What is a Home Care Package?

The government’s Home Care Package Program provides older Australians with generous funding to help them stay living independently at home for as long as possible. There are different levels of packages available and this funding can either fully or partially help to cover the cost of your in-home care needs so you’re able to stay living safely and well in your home. These packages give you more choice and flexibility about the types of services and care you need. 

How many levels of Home Care Packages are there?

There are 4 levels of Home Care Packages and each level is designed to cover different care needs.

Level 1 : Basic Care Needs

Level 2: Low-level Care Needs

Level 3: Intermedicate Level Care Needs

Level 4: High-level Care Needs 

Let’s understand the different levels of Home Care Packages in detail, what type of services they offer, and how much funding they offer. 

What is a Level 1 Home Care Package?

A Level 1 Home Care Package is designed to support people who have basic level care needs. The amount of funding per year for this level of package is $10,271.

Those with a Level 1 Package are still independent and are able to perform most day-to-day tasks on their own. Some of the common services used by those with a Level 1 Home Care Package are:

• Domestic assistance
• Social support
• Meal preparation
• Shopping
• Transport
• Personal care

A Level 1 Home Care Package will give you approximately 4 hours of support per fortnight, depending on your chosen provider’s fees. Most of the customers we speak to choose to use this for weekly household cleaning and fortnightly or monthly gardening duties.

What is a Level 2 Home Care Package?

A Level 2 Home Care Package is aimed at supporting people who have low-level care needs. The amount of funding received by those with a Level 2 Home Care Package is $18,064 per year.

Those who have a Level 2 Home Care Package require a little bit of care, but are still able to perform a lot of tasks around the home themselves. A Level 2 Home Care Package can be used for services such as the following (as well as much more): 

• Personal care
• Domestic assistance
• Loan of basic care equipment
• Social support
• Meal preparation
• Shopping
• Transport
• Basic home & garden maintenance
• Some nursing care

This amount of funding will give you approximately 7-8 hours of care and support fortnightly, depending on your chosen provider’s fees. Most of the customers we speak to choose to use this for some personal care, household cleaning, transport and gardening duties.

What is a Level 3 Home Care Package?

A Level 3 Home Care Package supports people who have intermediate level care needs and need quite a bit more support than Levels 1 and 2 in order to remain safely in their home.

With a Level 3, you’ll receive $39,311 per year to go towards your Home Care, and might choose to access the following:

• Personal care
• Domestic assistance
• Household assistance
• Assistance with aids and appliances
• Social support
• Meal preparation
• Medication management
• Nursing support
• Allied health support
• Shopping
• Transport
• Support with changes to memory and/or behaviour

A Level 3 Home Care Package will give you approximately 16-17 hours of support per fortnight, depending on your provider’s fees. Generally, those with a Level 3 Package will access more personal care, nursing, or allied health support than those with lower-level packages.

What is a Level 4 Home Care Package?

A Level 4 Home Care Package is intended to support people who have high level care needs. This level of package will give you $59,594 worth of funding per year. This works out to be approximately 25 hours of care per fortnight, depending on your particular provider’s fees.

If you or a loved one has high-level or complex care needs, you may be eligible to receive assistance with:

• Personal care (showering/dressing etc)
• Domestic assistance (laundry/cleaning etc)
• Assistance with aids and appliances
• Social support
• Meal preparation
• Medication management
• Nursing care
• Allied health support
• Shopping
• Transport
• Support with changes to memory and/or behaviour

Level 4 Packages are often allocated to people who are living with dementia, or Parkinson’s disease or where more specialised care or support is required. 

Wait times for Level 3 and 4 Home Care Packages

Unfortunately, the wait time for Level 3 and 4 packages can be quite long. If you’ve been approved for a Level 3 or 4 Package, you might be offered a lower-level package while you wait for your higher-level to become available. 

We recommend that you use all the available funds given to you with the lower-level package, as this will show that you do in fact require a lot of care. If you aren’t using all your available support, it may appear that you do not need a high amount of care. 

Learn more about Home Care Package wait times here.

Make sure you’re getting the most out of your Home Care Package!

Do you want guidance on how to make the most of your Home Care Package funding? Contact CareAbout Today! 

CareAbout is Australia’s leading Home Care placement service. We’ve helped thousands of families choose the right Home Care provider for their needs and we would love to help you.  

Speak with a CareAbout Expert now on 1300 713 407.