FAQs

Not all Home Care companies operate the same way, and some rely solely on outsourced staff to look after their clients. As you can imagine, this would make it difficult to guarantee a reliable, consistent, and high-quality service.

At MiCare, we have a lot of processes in place to ensure our staff is both professional and genuinely passionate about Aged Care. One of the major differences between our service and others is that we employ our own Carers. This makes a considerable difference to our clients as they are able to build long-term relationships with our staff. It is quite often the case that a Carer will visit the same home for a number of years, and having that sense of familiarity creates a comfortable and enjoyable environment for both the Carers and clients.

Our Carers also build long-term relationships with our Care Managers, so they have the support they need to excel in their work.

Some of the other ways we ensure professionalism among our team members:

• Our staff are carefully handpicked for their compassion and dedication to Aged Care, as well as their skills
• All new workers complete a thorough induction program to gain a deep understanding of our approach
• We ensure our staff have the appropriate qualifications and experience for the work they perform
• We invest in ongoing training and development for our staff to maintain and update their skills
• We match our Carers with our clients based on language and culture to make communication easier
• We are compliant with all relevant legislation and ensure all staff members have current Police Checks at all times

Our Carers are at the heart of our service, so their professionalism is vital in delivering our promises to you.

More about our carers

Yes. We are available every day of the year and can provide visits in the evenings, overnight, and 24 hours a day.

We’re a competitively priced service, and we are completely upfront about our fees.

The Commonwealth Government stipulates the fees that a Home Care Provider is entitled to charge a recipient of the Home Care Package in addition to the package.

At MiCare, we keep our fees to a minimum whilst maintaining our high-quality care standards.

There are three types of fees associated with Home Care Packages:

1. Basic Daily Care FeeThe Basic Daily Care Fee may be up to 17.5% of the Aged Care Pension. Unlike some other providers, MiCare does NOT to charge a Basic Daily Care Fee.
2. Exit FeesExit fees may apply when transferring your Home Care Package from one provider to another, or when you discontinue your Home Care Package.Exit fees cover the additional administrative costs incurred with reconciling your budget and the transfer of funds. Further information relating to exit amounts is published on the My Aged Care website.

   This fee is up to individual providers to set. At MiCare, our exit fees just cover our costs, and nothing more.

3. Income Tested Care FeeProviders are required to charge the fee that is stipulated by Centrelink. This is determined by Centrelink when you are applying for assistance and submitting your financial information to them. It is only charged to people whose income is above a certain threshold.My Aged Care has a Fee Estimator tool which can give an indication of the fees you may have to pay if you receive a Home Care Package.

Home Care Packages and the Commonwealth Home Support Program support people with different needs.

Home Care Packages

• For people with complex or intensive care needs
• Need care on a long-term basis
• Require several different services to maintain their safety, well-being, and independence
• Need a Care Manager to help manage their Care Plan, funding budget, and services

 

Commonwealth Home Support Program

• Entry-level care is designed for people who can manage with basic help
• For people who either need short-term assistance or basic care on an ongoing basis
• Only require 1-2 services to maintain their safety, wellbeing, and independence
• Don’t need ongoing Care Management

The role of a Care Manager is to understand your needs and goals, find the right Home Care services to support you, and monitor your progress over time.

Care Managers are sometimes also known as Case Managers or Home Care Advisors.

At MiCare, we assign a dedicated Care Manager to each client. We feel this is a very important part of providing personalized service. Our clients can have consistent visits and calls from the same Care Manager, enabling them to build rapport over time.

Some Home Care companies will share clients with many Care Managers. This makes it difficult for Care Managers to understand the client’s individual needs and lifestyle, as they are unable to build an ongoing relationship.

More about Care Management

The government regulations only require that clients be visited once per year as a minimum, but at MiCare we have found it is difficult to monitor a client’s wellbeing with just an occasional phone call.

We prefer to offer more frequent visits, unless you specifically prefer not to be visited.

At MiCare, we are industry leaders in culturally-specific care.

We deliberately cater to many clients from an array of migrant backgrounds, and we believe that it is extremely important our clients can speak to Carers in their own native language. Between our staff members, we proudly speak more than 50 languages, so we are able to communicate with many clients who don’t speak English.