Veterans’ Home Care

Detailed information for care recipients can be found here.

Download a printable version of the Veterans’Home Care brochure here.
Is your patient a veteran or a war widow/widower, or a dependent, requiring care at home?

Care Assess is the Assessment Agency for the Veterans’ Home Care (VHC) program in Tasmania, including Southern, Northern and North Western Tasmania.

As VHC Assessment Agency, Care Assess provides regional assessments, care coordination and contracting of services to approved VHC service providers for eligible veterans living in the community, on behalf of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Eligibility

Veterans eligible and entitled to be assessed to receive all services under the VHC program are Veterans and war widows/widowers and certain dependants who are:

• An Australian veteran or mariner; or
• A war widow/widower of an Australian veteran or mariner;

And have:

• A Repatriation Health Card – For All Conditions (Gold Card) or
• A Repatriation Health Card – For Specific Conditions (White Card).
• Some Australian veterans with a White Card have limited or no eligible to be assessed to receive all VHC services.
• Eligibility applies to the assessment for VHC services. Access to services is not automatic, but based on assessment.

This program offers:

VHC is a basic home support program offering:

• Domestic help and assistance (for example, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, hanging out washing)
• Personal care assistance (for example, showering and assistance getting dressed)
• Safety-related home and garden maintenance assistance (for example, trimming bushes, cleaning out gutters, changing tap washers
• Respite care (carer’s respite including residential, home-based or a combination of both)

How this service works:

• VHC assessment agencies are part of a national network that is serviced by a national phone system. The national VHC number that connects callers to the VHC assessment agency for their region is 1300 550 450.
• Veterans and war widow/widowers may access VHC services in a number of ways including self-referral to VHC by phoning 1300 550 450 and requesting an assessment; or via referral from a third party, such as referrals to Care Assess from GPs, hospital discharge planners, community service providers, or family members, carers or friends.
• On receipt of a referral, a Care Assess VHC assessor will contact you to conduct an assessment over the phone of your health status and home care needs.
• Following the assessment the coordinator will coordinate and contract services to approved providers who can best meet your needs.

Funding and fees

• This program is funded by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) under their VHC program for entitled persons.
• Services for VHC are subject to some co-payments per hour of in-home service but are capped per week. The care plan will advise about any co-payment amounts. Service providers are responsible for collecting co-payments from veterans and war widow/widowers. The method and frequency of collection of co-payments should be agreed between the service provider and the veteran. However Veterans have a right not be denied care and services because of an inability to pay a fee for reasons beyond the veterans or war widow/widower’s control; and if they find it financially difficult to meet the required copayment costs, are able to apply for a waiver of the copayment.

Detailed information for care recipients can be found here.

Download a printable version of the Veterans’Home Care brochure here.

Disclaimer: Although funding for this program has been provided by the Australian Government, the material contained herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Australian Government.