Rent Assistance (RA) for care receivers 108-18102230

Is the customer a member of a couple who is illness separated?

• Yes
• Customers who are illness separated are assessed individually for Rent Assistance (RA)
• Go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 2

Does this customer have RCA/CUR as a benefit status?

• Yes and it is:
• RCA/CUR-MTA, go to Step 3
• RCA/CUR-DSS, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 7

This code appears when the customer's income and assets have been assessed for aged care purposes but they are yet to enter an aged care service.

Check the RCA Institution Summary (RIS) screen for Admission Date and Care Type.

If the customer is advising they are:

• in respite care, go to Step 11
• in another temporary care situation, go to Step 12
• entering a residential aged care service, go to Step 9
• still in their principal home and paying rent. The following apply:
• Normal RA eligibility provisions Rent Assistance eligibility criteria which apply to all customers Additional RA eligibility criteria which apply to specific customer groups Payability of Rent Assistance to customers in some situations apply

The customer will be either:

• assessed as being in funded permanent residential aged care:
• There is no entitlement to RA. A residential aged care subsidy is paid directly to the aged care service instead
• receiving home care. The customer may be entitled to RA. The following apply:
• Normal RA eligibility provisions Rent Assistance eligibility criteria which apply to all customers Additional RA eligibility criteria which apply to specific customer groups Payability of Rent Assistance to customers in some situations apply

Go to the RCA Institution Summary (RIS) screen. The Care Type field will advise if the customer is in Residential Aged Care or receiving home care.

If the customer is in Residential Aged Care, the Homeowner code on the Accommodation Details (AC) screen will be:

• GFN (Govt. funded non-homeowner) or
• GFH (Govt. funded homeowner)

If the RIS screen has the customer in Residential Aged Care, and the customer is advising:

• they have moved out of funded permanent residential aged care, go to Step 5
• the accreditation of the aged care service has changed, go to Step 6
• they are still paying rent for their former principal home, go to Step 10
• they are staying in funded permanent residential aged care and asking about RA:
• Tell them they are not entitled to RA
• A residential care subsidy is paid directly to the aged care service instead
• Procedure ends here

Services Australia receives automatic advice when a customer moves out of funded permanent residential aged care.

If the customer still has RCA/CUR the automatic advice has not yet been received.

• Follow the process in Change of Address from an aged care home
• Procedure ends here

If the aged care service is no longer accredited it will not receive government funding. The customer can be assessed for RA instead.

If accreditation has been lost, Services Australia receives an automatic advice.

If the customer:

• still has RCA/CUR
• the automatic advice has not yet been received
• procedure ends here until automatic advice is received
• is not RCA/CUR, update their details:
• see Completing the Accommodation (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance
• procedure ends here

Is the customer in a service and is advising of a change of accreditation from unfunded to funded?

• Yes
• Tell the customer they will no longer be entitled to RA. A residential care subsidy is paid directly to the aged care service instead
• The customer has no obligation to advise of a change of funding for the aged care service. These details are received via data exchange. There is no debt from when the status of the service changed to the date RA is ceased
• If the customer is:
  not RCA/CUR the automatic advice has no yet been received. Procedure ends here
  RCA/CUR the automatic advice has been received See Completing the Accommodation (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance to update accommodation details if required. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 8

Is the customer advising they have moved to an aged care service?

• Yes, and the move is:
• for respite care, go to Step 11
• into a transitional care program, go to Step 14
• permanent, go to Step 9
• No, and the move is:
• for respite care, go to Step 11
• temporary, other than respite, go to Step 12
• permanent, go to Step 13

Is the aged care service accredited and the customer is in a funded bed?

• Yes
• They are not entitled to RA. A residential care subsidy will be paid directly to the aged care service instead
• If the customer is still paying rent for their former principal home, go to Step 10
• If they are not paying rent, see Change of address to an aged care home
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 13

The customer can receive RA for the former principal home for the first 14 days after admission.

If RA stops before 14 days has passed:

• payment will need to be made using Payment Adjust (PYAJ) screen. Local escalation procedures may be in place
• if the customer is a member of a couple contact the Rent Assistance Level 2 Helpdesk for advice on how much rent to pay. See Resources page for a link
• see Change of address to an aged care home
• procedure ends here

Rent Assistance (RA) cannot be paid for respite care.

RA is payable for the principal home if:

• the customer continues to pay rent for it
• they received RA for that address before going into respite care
• they have been in respite care for a continuous period of 52 days or less
  Note: the 52 days is not cumulative. It starts again each time the customer goes into respite care

See Completing the Accommodation Details (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance.

Procedure ends here.

• If the customer is in a Transitional care program go to Step 14

A customer can receive RA for a temporary address when they have moved for 14 days or longer to:

• receive a substantial level of care (other than respite care)
• to access specific medical treatment not available near their principal home

RA is payable for the temporary address even if the customer owns their principal home.

This includes:

• a nursing home type patient in hospital awaiting placement in an aged care service. Note: only if the customer is not in a bed funded under the Aged Care Act 1997
• a detoxification clinic, rehabilitation centre, mental health facility or similar institution
• in a private residence

Has or will the customer receive insurance or compensation payments to cover rental costs for the temporary accommodation?

• Yes, go to Step 15
• No:
• See Completing the Accommodation Details (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance
• Procedure ends here

Customers living in care situations which are not a funded bed under the Aged Care Act 1997 can be assessed for RA. These services are:

• non-accredited aged care
• an unfunded bed in an accredited aged care facility
• National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) program
• other types of care facilities, such as Residential Intellectually Disabled Facility
• a multi-purpose facility and not in the aged care service it provides
• a nursing home type patient in hospital awaiting placement in an aged care service. Note: only if the customer is not in a bed funded under the Aged Care Act 1997

See Completing the Accommodation Details (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance.

Procedure ends here.

Transitional care programs delivered by aged care facilities, including multi-purpose facilities:

• These are government funded under the Aged Care Act 1997
• Customers are not entitled to RA
• For more details, see Transition Care Programme

Some hospitals, psychiatric facilities and disability providers also offer transitional care programs. Customers can be assessed for RA where the transitional care is not funded under the Aged Care Act 1997.

If an update to the customer's Accommodation Details (AC) screen is needed see Completing the Accommodation Details (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance

Procedure ends here.

Is or will the insurance or compensation amount be assessed as exempt income?

• Yes, go to Step 16
• No, go to Step 18

The customer must advise how the insurance company calculated the amount. Including what period of time the payments cover, and the amount that was paid.

• If the insurance company provides free accommodation, RA is not payable
• If the amount received covers the total rent amount, RA is not payable
• If the amount received partially covers the rent amount, the amount of RA payable is assessed on the net rent amount

Can the customer advise how the insurance company calculated the amount?

• Yes, go to Step 17
• No, tell the customer to contact once details are available. Procedure ends here

Using the details provided by the customer determine how much the customer has been paid to cover rent on a weekly or fortnightly basis.

If the amount received:

• covers the total rent amount, RA is not payable for the temporary address
• partially covers the rent amount, RA is payable on the net rent amount. The net amount is calculated by subtracting the insurance or compensation amount from the amount of rent payable by the customer. See Completing the Accommodation Details (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance (RA) to finalise the update

Procedure ends here.

If the amount received is assessed as income for income/assets purposes, RA is payable on the total rent amount payable by the customer for the accommodation.

Customers can be assessed for RA for the temporary address, see Completing the Accommodation Details (AC) screen and assessing Rent Assistance (RA) to finalise the update.