If your elderly loved one is experiencing challenges with their current living situation, there are a range of options available, including accessing in-home assistance, or considering a move to a more suitable location such as a residential park, retirement village or aged care home. Here we look at some of the best housing options for seniors.
In-home assistance
If your loved one has a disability or a condition that restricts day-to-day living, it can affect their ability to remain safely in their home. However, some additional assistance and simple modifications can often make a huge difference.
The Australian Government’s My Aged Care program provides information about disability, aged care and other support services for those who are 65 years or older and their carers. For more information, visit the My Aged Care website or call the contact centre on 1800 200 422. There are also other forms of assistance available, including through the Commonwealth Home Support Program and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (if they have a current DVA card).
If you are unable to access these, Home Assist Secure may also be able to provide safety-related information, referrals and subsidised assistance to Queenslanders aged 60 years and over who are unable to undertake or pay for critical home maintenance services. If eligible, they may receive a financial contribution towards labour costs for minor home maintenance, or modifications relating to their safety, health or security so they can remain living in their home.
Assisted living
The decision to move an elderly loved one into assisted living can be emotionally and very draining on a loved one who has to organise this for a parent. However, there is a range of options that will ensure they are happy, healthy, safe and cared for well into their twilight years.
Residential parks
There are two types of residential parks. Purpose-built residential parks are exclusively made up of manufactured homes, and mixed-use parks contain these as well as holiday cabins and caravan sites etc. Both are managed by a park owner or manager.
They typically comprise manufactured homes with the character of a dwelling house, sites that are available for rent or purchase under a site agreement, and additional facilities for the convenience, comfort and enjoyment of residents. Purpose-built parks are often targeted at the over 50s age group (although there can be age limitations).
Facilities can include dining facilities, emergency call access, after-hours security, a park bus for shopping trips and/or excursions, and recreational facilities like a tennis court, bowling green, swimming pool and/or common room.
What to consider
If your loved one is contemplating a move to a manufactured home in a residential park, they should consider:
- If a communal living scheme is right for them, and whether they prefer to live in a purpose-built or mixed-use park.
- Where they want to live, including whether there are nearby medical and shopping services.
- What they want from their accommodation, including facilities like transport, emergency call access and social and recreational facilities.
- Their budget — you may want to recommend that your loved one appoints a solicitor who specialises in retirement villages, as costs will differ per park. For more information, call the Queensland Law Society on 1300 367 757 or visit qls.com.au.
- The reputation of the park and the operator, and how disputes are handled with residential park managers/owners.
- Where their manufactured home will be located in the park, and their rights and responsibilities as a renter or homeowner, including their options if they want to renovate their home.
- What the entry, ongoing and leaving costs are and how water, gas and electricity will be charged.
- How and when the site agreement could be terminated.
Manufactured homes in residential parks are legislated by the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003. Free legal assistance and information about manufactured homes is available from the Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service.
Retirement villages
Retirement villages are premises where a community of seniors live in serviced or independent living units and share common facilities and amenities. They cater to older members of the community who can generally live independently, although in some villages, support and personal care services can be purchased for a fee in the complex. Retirement villages may be owned by commercial operators or religious, charitable or ethnic not-for-profit organisations.
What to consider
There are many things to consider when deciding to relocate your loved one to a retirement village, so it is vital to do your research. Before you or your loved one make any commitments you should:
- Think about where they want to live and what they want from their accommodation.
- Read the Village Comparison Document (VCD), which is published on each retirement village’s website. This will give you general information about the retirement village accommodation, and services and facilities including the general cost of moving into, living in and leaving the village.
- Their budget — you may want to recommend your loved one appoints a solicitor who specialises in retirement villages. For more information, call the Queensland Law Society on 1300 367 757 or visit qls.com.au.
- Compare the costs — request a Prospective Costs Document (PCD). This will outline the costs of entering the retirement village and the current ongoing costs. It will also give you an understanding of the financial commitment involved in entering in, living and leaving the property.
- Understand their rights and responsibilities as a resident, so request all the required paperwork from the village, including a residence contract and the village by-laws. The residence contract will outline the rights and responsibilities of those living in the village, and those of the operator.
- After the residence contract is signed, you have 14 days to withdraw it without penalty and the operator will immediately refund any in-going contribution that has been paid. This is called a cooling-off period. By law, an operator must register the retirement village before offering any offers or contracts.
Fees
While living in a retirement village, fees for facilities and services will need to be paid. Typically, there are maintenance fees, as well as a single ingoing contribution, ongoing general services charges, any optional personal services charges and a single exit fee.
- Ingoing contribution – this one-off payment secures your loved one’s right to live in the village.
- Ongoing general services charges – these pay for management and administration, recreation or entertainment facilities, gardening and general maintenance, and other services identified in the contract. The Retirement Villages Act 1999 limits how the total general services charges can be increased by the scheme operator.
- Personal services charges – these are optional services, including cleaning, laundry, meals and other services. These can be negotiated as part of the residence contract.
- Exit fee – this is paid after your loved one leaves the village. It is usually based on a proportion of either the in-going contribution that was paid for the unit when your loved one moved in, or the price it was sold for. Generally, the proportion paid will depend on how long your loved one lived in the village.
Aged care homes
If your elderly loved one can no longer live independently, aged care homes can provide quality care and services in a safe environment. There are varying levels of services offered, however, all aged care homes should provide support for those with cultural and diverse needs according to the Aged Care Quality Standards. If they don’t meet these standards, they may receive disciplinary action.
If they speak a different language, some homes may have staff who speak that language, and others, support to those with particular religious beliefs or cater to populations such as the LGBTI community or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Some provide continual nursing care, while others offer mainly accommodation and personal care, with occasional nursing care. Some aged care homes cater for those with a medical condition, like dementia or Alzheimer’s, and some also offer palliative care for people who have a life-limiting illness to maintain the best possible quality of life.
What to consider
It’s important you find a home for your loved one that can meet their needs, both now and into the future. However, finding the right aged care home can take time. The sooner you start researching what’s available, the more prepared you both will be and the sooner they may be able to move, as there are often waiting lists involved.
- To find a home that’s right for them, create a shortlist of homes that meet their wants and needs. They may want to stay in or close to their neighbourhood so they are familiar with their surroundings. Or perhaps they want to move closer to friends and family. The easiest way to find a suitable facility is to use the My Aged Care Find a Provider tool, where you can view a list of homes in their chosen area.
- You should then have them assessed through My Aged Care to determine their specific needs and requirements. This will enable them to access federal government-funded aged care services. If My Aged Care services can help, they will then undertake a face-to-face assessment of your loved one.
- In terms of the costs involved, they will have to pay accommodation costs and possibly a means-tested care fee. A means assessment will determine if they need to pay this care fee and if the Australian Government will contribute to their accommodation costs. Everyone who moves into an aged care home negotiates a room price before moving, and the assessment determines if they will have to pay the agreed price.
- Think about the size and type of room that might be suitable — there are typically different sized rooms with differing decor and single and shared room options available, some with ensuites. All the variations among rooms will affect the price they will pay.
- Once you have a shortlist of places, it’s a good idea to visit them with your loved one. You will both see first-hand the accommodation and facilities, meet the staff and other residents, and see what types of activities and care services they offer. This will also give your loved one a sense of what it would be like to live there.
- Applying to preferred facilities usually involves providing a copy of your loved one’s My Aged Care assessment, details of their Government means assessment, and a signed application form and fee advice document, but the process does differ between facilities. However, all of them will require personal information, including details of their health insurance fund, next of kin, representative’s details and Power of Attorney (if applicable).
- When you and your loved one have decided on your preferred choice, the aged care home will help formalise their offer, including typically providing a Resident Agreement, an Accommodation Agreement and an Extra Services agreement.
Fees
You should organise their means assessment as soon as possible, as the process can take some time. Without it, they will be unable to receive any government assistance towards the costs of living there. Once it is completed, Services Australia will provide the outcome to their chosen aged care home. The differing components of fees include:
- Basic daily fee – based on current rates, the maximum basic daily fee is $52.71 per day or $19,239.15 per year. This fee helps pay for their day-to-day services such as cleaning, meals, laundry and facilities management. The basic daily fee is 85 percent of the single person rate of the basic age pension. The Government sets the price on 20 March and 20 September each year, and it changes in line with increases to the aged pension.
- Means-tested care fee – this will be between $0 to $256.44 per day, depending on the result of your means assessment. This is an ongoing fee you pay towards the cost of your clinical and personal care. Personal care can include help with bathing, dressing, grooming and going to the toilet. Clinical care can include services like medication assistance, catheter care and specialised nursing services. There are annual and lifetime caps on means-tested care fees. The maximum an aged care home can charge you is $28,338.71 per year or $68,012.98 in a lifetime. These caps are indexed in March and September each year.
Please note: figures mentioned above are current as at June 2021.
References
- 2021, Housing options, Queensland Government
- 2021, Connect with aged care homes, My Aged Care