After your assessment, your assessor will need some time to review your information and determine your eligibility. Once a decision is made, the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) will send you a letter.
The letter will contain:
- the assessment team’s decision on whether you are eligible
- the services you are eligible to receive
- the reasons and evidence supporting the decision
- a copy of your support plan developed during your assessment
- referral codes for services if you discussed this referral method with your assessor.
If you don’t receive a letter explaining your assessment decision, contact your assessor and ask for a copy.
I’m eligible – what’s next?
Once you receive your approval letter, you should start with two main steps:
- Find an aged care home
You can ask your assessor to refer you to an aged care home or you can refer yourself. If you choose to refer yourself, you will need the referral code in your approval letter. See more information about referral codes below.
You can find aged care homes by using the Find a provider tool or by calling My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for guidance.
For a step-by-step guide to selecting the best aged care home, read our Connecting with aged care homes page.
- Understand the costs
There are various fees you may be asked to pay when moving to an aged care home. If you are eligible, you are expected to contribute to the cost of your accommodation and care if you can afford to.
To find out exactly what you will need to pay, you will need to have a means assessment. This assessment takes time, so the sooner you start the process, the better. You can find more information on this process and different costs on the aged care home costs and fees page.
What is a referral code and why do I need it?
Your assessor may arrange your referral with the aged care home or issue you with a referral code. A referral code is your unique reference number for receiving services. You give the referral code to your chosen provider. If you lose your code, you can log in to your My Aged Care Online Account to see it. With the code, a provider can view your client record, accept the referral, and start organising services for you.
Keep track of what you need to do
The My guide to aged care tool will help create a ‘next steps’ checklist tailored for you.
I’m not eligible – what now?
If you aren’t eligible for an aged care home, you will receive a letter from your assessor that will tell you why.
There are other options available.
- You may be eligible for other government-funded aged care services. If you are, your letter will include a support plan outlining this information.
- If you’re not eligible for other services, you may want to look at aged care providers that aren't government-funded.
- If you are under 65 years old, you may want to explore your eligibility with the National Disability and Insurance Scheme (NDIS). You can do this through an NDIS Access Request. Call NDIS on 1800 800 110 (toll-free) for more information.
If you have any questions about the assessment process, including the assessment team’s decision, there are actions you can take:
- Discuss your concerns with your assessor. This is usually the best way to resolve any issues. You can have a friend or relative help with this if you wish.
- Request a review of the decision, free of charge. Information about how to do this will be included in your letter. You can also find out more information on the Contact us page.