The hardship supplement is for home care recipients in genuine financial hardship and who do not have income to pay the costs of services due to circumstances beyond their control. If you are deemed to be in financial hardship, the Australian government will pay some or all of your costs. You can apply for assistance with the basic daily fee; and/or the income-tested care fee.
Eligibility
Each case is assessed individually. However, you can’t make a claim if you are holding on to your assets for beneficiaries or if you have gifted assets in the last five years.
Application
To apply for the supplement the care recipient will need to complete an application form which can be found on the Department of Human Services (DHS) website or here.
Care recipients will not be eligible for financial hardship assistance if they have:
- not completed and lodged an Aged care fees income assessment (SA456) form (for Home Care Packages and residential respite care) with the Department of Human Services (DHS) or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), or
- assets (unless they are unrealisable assets) valued at more than $34,881.60 (from 20 September 2017), or
Or:
- gifted: more than $10,000 in the previous 12 months, or more than $30,000 in the previous 5 years.
