Retirement Villages - Accommodation and Care Alternatives

Accommodation and Care Alternatives - What’s Right for You?

Choosing the right type of accommodation and having access to the right mix of services is no easy task because a range of alternatives and combinations are available. In some cases the accommodation is bundled with a package of services, and in others a package of services can be tacked on depending on need and financial circumstances. The following table shows the majority of the alternatives and combinations, although the preferred mix will obviously depend on personal circumstances:

Accommodation		Services

The family home, which could be a freestanding house, "granny flat", home unit (where the body corporate will provide some services relating to the land, building and common areas) etc.		A range of services can be provided: privately at commercial rates through government initiatives, such as Home and Community Care (HACC), Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) and Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) by charitable organizations. Out-of-home services such as Day Therapy Centres and Respite Care are also available to help people remain in their own home by assisting them directly and offering respite to their carers.

Retirement village - independent living units Over 50's manufactured home village		These village alternatives provide the benefit of village management, but residents are generally responsible for looking after their home and garden, if they have one. The homes may include additional features, such as emergency call buttons, and village management may offer a range of optional "flexicare services", such as garden maintenance, housekeeping and personal services, at commercial rates. If additional services are required, the range of services described in the previous section may also be available.

Retirement village - serviced apartments		As above, but the arrangement includes a package of services that are provided on a regular basis at commercial rates and will generally include some housekeeping and personal services.

Low level residential care (hostel) High level residential care (nursing home)		The Commonwealth Government regulates and partly funds the provision of residential aged care for frail older people who can no longer live independently in their own home. There are two levels of aged care and although they are officially called “low level residential care” and “high level residential care” they are still widely known and referred to as “hostels” and “nursing homes”, respectively. Before you can enter a hostel or nursing home you must be assessed and approved for care by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). ACATs are generally made up of local doctors, nurses, social workers and the like and they are usually located at hospitals, aged care centres or community centres. The essential difference between a hostel and a nursing home is that the latter provides a higher level of nursing and personal services.