Completing the required Centrelink forms for aged care can be overwhelming, to say the least.
An aged care resident is required, depending on their situation, to either notify Centrelink that they have entered aged care or complete the particular documents for their circumstances.
Why Do You Need To Submit Forms/Notify Centrelink?
This is necessary to receive aged care government subsidies via the means-tested fee calculation. Without notifying or submitting a form, aged care fees will be astronomical, currently up to $260 per day just for the means-tested fee.
Centrelink will also use the financial information to determine if a resident is a low means resident or required to pay a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD). The difference between these aged care fee structures can be substantial. Strangely, being a low means resident is not always a cheaper fee structure than being required to pay a RAD.
Completing Centrelink Aged Care Forms, What Are Your Options?
There are several alternatives to notify Centrelink depending on your situation. They are as follows:
- If a resident does not own a home and is receiving a means-tested payment from Centrelink or DVA such as the aged pension, and most importantly, assets and income are correctly recorded with Centrelink, a phone call to the Centrelink on 1800227475 will usually suffice. Wait time can be up to 2 hours.
- For someone not receiving a means-tested payment from Centrelink or DVA, such as an aged pension, the 21-page SA457 form is required. This document is very comprehensive, and its significance in determining aged care fees should not be underestimated.
- For someone who owns a home and is receiving a means-tested payment from Centrelink or DVA such as the aged pension, the 9-page SA485 or the electronic version SA486 is required. It is essential that assets and income are already correctly recorded with Centrelink.
- For someone who owns a home, there is no protected person, receives a means-tested income support payment from Centrelink or DVA such as the Age Pension, and most importantly, assets and income are correctly recorded with Centrelink, a phone call to Centrelink will sometimes suffice. However, we feel that the 9-page SA485 is the better option.
Your assets, income, or if there is a protected person in the home determine aged care fees. We feel it is vital to get expert financial advice as there are strategies to minimize aged care fees and maximise Centrelink support.
Considerations
When dealing with Centrelink yourself, keep in mind the following:
- The assessment generally takes around six weeks to complete.
- If you receive no response from Centrelink in relation to assessment within six weeks, you should contact them for an update on the progress.
- Be prepared to spend up to 2 hours on hold with Centrelink before speaking to a representative.
- Don’t be surprised if the assessment comes back with inaccurate or overstated fees. In more than 20 years of dealing with Centrelink, we regularly encounter Centrelink mistakes, resulting in higher aged care fees than required. However, as most people don’t know how to calculate what the fees should be, errors can go unnoticed.
If you have any concerns regarding aged care then please don’t hesitate to call us on 1300 944 011 to speak with one of our expert aged care advisers. You can also visit www.CoreValue.com.au. We look forward to hearing from you.
Hi, I hope you found this article useful.
If you wish to discuss your situation and what strategies may be of benefit please contact us here
Thanks - Shane
