Micah Projects Care Finder
Our Care Finder program provides support to connect and engage vulnerable older people who have significant difficulty navigating My Aged Care and are at risk of “falling between the cracks.”
Care Finder is part of a national network of care finder services for vulnerable older people, with our program servicing Brisbane.
Our Care Finder program assists those who are eligible for government-funded aged care services and require intensive support to interact with My Aged Care, access aged care services and connect with other community supports. This includes people who already receive aged care services or other relevant supports.
To be eligible for aged care services, people must:
- Need help with one or more everyday tasks
- Be aged: 65 years or older (50 years or older for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people)
- or
- 50 years or older (45 years or older for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people) and on low income and homeless, or at risk of being homeless.
How can the program help?
Our team of Aged care navigators can help people understand what aged care services are available and access other supports in the community.
They will provide this support by meeting with the person and asking questions to understand their situation.
Aged care navigators can help with accessing services for the first time as well as changing or finding new services and supports by:
- talking to My Aged Care and arranging an assessment
- attending and providing support during the assessment finding and shortlisting aged care providers in the area
- completing forms and helping to understand aged care service agreements
- checking in once services have commenced to ensure everything is running smoothly
- connecting to supports in the community such as health, mental health, housing, drug and alcohol services, and community groups.
Accessing support
Who can the program help?
The Aged care navigators program is not for everyone. It focuses on older people who face significant barriers navigating the aged care system due to:
- Communication barriers, including limited literacy skills
- Difficulty processing information to make decisions
- Reluctance to engage with aged care services for any reason
- They are uncomfortable engaging with aged care, institutions or the government due to past discrimination and/or trauma
- They are vulnerable or isolated with need for support
Aged care navigators support people who don’t have family, friends, a carer or a representative they are comfortable receiving help from and who is willing and able to help them access aged care services and supports.
How do I refer?
If you know someone, including yourself, who you think is eligible for aged care services and has one or more reasons for requiring intensive support, please contact the team on 3029 7070 or email carefinder@micahprojects.org.au
The person must give consent for you to provide any information about them.
If you're located outside of Brisbane, we can put you in touch with other Care Finders.