How members are referred

How we partner

In order to match you with members for in-home sessions, Lively partners with other organisations to send us referrals—that is, requests for support for their clients. There are two types of organisations we partner with:

• Councils (e.g. Darebin, Merri-bek), which receiving funding from the 'Commonwealth Home Support Program' (CHSP) in order to help their residents pay for our services.

• Aged care providers (e.g. Aunty Grace, mecwacare, Uniting AgeWell). These providers help their clients access funds through the 'Home Care Package' (HCP) program in order to pay for our services.

Accessing government-funded aged care support

It's expensive to get extra support to live at home! That's why the government helps older people to pay for these services. However, it is a complicated process to apply for this funding and get it allocated! Here's how it works:

1. The older person contacts My Aged Care, the government's front desk for receiving enquiries about aged care. It's basically an online portal and call line.

2. The folks at My Aged Care will refer the older person to an assessment service (e.g. Inspire 4 Life) - these are independent companies that will visit people at home to figure out what their needs are and recommend certain services. They will recommend people for either:

   • Commonwealth Home Support Program (less complex needs)

   • Home Care Package program (more complex needs)

3. If they have been recommended for a home care package, there is usually a waiting period of at least 9 months, depending on the package level. Sometimes, during this time, they will temporarily gain access to support through CHSP.

4. Once they have been referred to one of these programs, the member will then need to find and select an approved service provider under one of these programs. They can do this via the My Aged Care website, or by talking to a Care Finder—these are individuals who can help people locate eligible service providers.

5. Once they're connected with a provider, the older person can start receiving support with their help! Lively works with providers under both the CHSP and HCP programs.

Once an older person is connected with one of our partner providers (see the list above!) they can start the process of Being Matched with a Lively Helper!