My aged care representative

Navigating aged care or managing personal matters can be time consuming, complex and stressful, particularly if your health is deteriorating, or your capacity to make decisions is diminishing. 

You may want to consider appointing a trusted person to be your representative for your interactions with My Aged Care.  

If you retain capacity, you still have the authority to determine what exactly your representative can choose for you. 

In circumstances where care services are needed or being received, having a representative can be very beneficial, or even necessary. 

A representative, whether a family member, friend, caregiver or advocate, is someone designated to speak and act on your behalf. 

A My Aged Care representative can do things on someone else’s behalf, including: 

1. Dealing with My Aged Care, assessors, and service providers
   2. Making decisions regarding assessments and referrals for aged care services
   3. Seeking and updating personal information held by My Aged Care 
   4. Maintaining your information up to date on your My Aged Care portal 

Your representative will be assigned a My Aged Care ID number that will be linked to your My Aged Care ID number, which will help My Aged Care identify them as your representative. 

To appoint a representative, both parties need to be in agreement of the intended representation. This can be done during the aged care assessment, via phone with My Aged Care, or by completing the Appointment of a Representative form. 

There are two types of representatives you can have: 

Regular representative 

A regular representative operates with your consent when you have decision-making capacity, which means you can provide consent for this arrangement. 

Someone taking up the role of a regular representative needs to keep the older person actively involved in the decision-making process for their care and have their approval before sharing any of their personal information with providers or My Aged Care. 

The regular representative can also be nominated as the first point of contact with My Aged Care. This means the representative will be contacted first, instead of the older person. This representative will also receive any information via post. 

An older person who has a regular representative can still communicate directly with My Aged Care if they wish. 

Authorised representative 

An authorised representative acts on behalf of an older person lacking decision-making capacity. 

To become an authorised representative, you will need the appropriate legal documents to confirm you have the legal right to act on the older person’s behalf for personal, health and/or lifestyle decisions. These documents vary from state to state but could be an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA), an Enduring Guardianship, or a Guardianship order. 

Both the EPOA and the Enduring Guardianship need to be accompanied by a letter from a doctor stating that the older person cannot act on their own behalf. 

If you don’t have any of these documents and want to be appointed as an authorised representative, you’ll need to supply My Aged Care with a statutory declaration stating you are the most appropriate person to represent the older person and you’ll also need a letter from a doctor stating the older person is unable to act for themselves. 

The authorised representative will automatically be the first point of contact for any communication from My Aged Care. 

Why have a representative?

Registering with My Aged Care, progressing through the assessments and approvals, understanding what an approved referral code means, knowing how to go about sourcing services related to a referral code and knowing how to choose a great provider for a home care package is a complex and lengthy process. 

Communication is vital to ensure these processes occur as they should, in a timely manner, and that they reflect the changing needs of the older person. 

Appointing a representative in My Aged Care shares the tasks of communication and action. 

The older person can ask their representative to interact with My Aged Care in their place. 

There may be cognitive issues, hearing, vision or speech impairments, language barriers, not being digitally connected, a lack of confidence, or any other number of reasons why an older person would prefer a trusted family member or carer to deal with My Aged Care on their behalf.

What does my aged care representative do?

• Provide information to My Aged Care 
  This could be talking to assessors, the My Aged Care contact centre and service providers. 

• Seek information from My Aged Care 
  This could be asking where the older person sits in the national queue and when they might receive their support package, or if a referral for assessment has been received and when to expect a call from an assessor. 

• Make decisions about aged care assessments and referrals for aged care services 
  This could also include asking for a review of the older person’s assessment to get a higher level of care if their needs are exceeding their current support. 

• See and update aged care and personal information. 
  This could be where an older person has changed address or moved into an aged care home. This can be done through the contact centre or through the My Aged Care client record on myGov. 

 

In our experience, older people who have My Aged Care representatives achieve timelier and more appropriate outcomes. They don’t fall through the cracks because the representative is regularly monitoring and following up on behalf of the older person. 

For information on how to become a representative click here.

Who is the most appropriate person or persons to be appointed as a representative within My Aged Care? 

The most appropriate person to be representing an older person within My Aged Care is the person who fulfils the caregiving role. It is the person who has a thorough understanding of the day-to-day limitations and needs of the older person. 

Communication with My Aged Care needs to detail those day-to-day limitations and needs. The representative is the person who can convey to My Aged Care, to assessment teams and to home care providers, in detail, what the older person needs to enable them to remain living at home. 

Appointing a representative within My Aged Care is not a legal obligation, nor is it concerned with managing finances. 

Appointing a representative within My Aged Care is solely for the purpose of efficient and effective communication at each step in the journey. 

A representative is acknowledged by the staff at My Aged Care as having the consent to speak on behalf of an older person and information from My Aged Care will be shared willingly. 

Without an appointed My Aged Care representative formally noted within the system, the staff at My Aged Care will not discuss nor disclose any details about the older person. 

My Aged Care will create a record and an identification number for all representatives. Some personal information is gathered such as the representative’s Medicare number and their date of birth. This is to ensure that My Aged Care staff are dealing with the appropriate person. 

A My Aged Care representative does not fulfil the same role as a legally appointed substitute decision maker. 

Leaving an older person to fend for themselves within the aged care system is fraught with peril and may disadvantage them in communication and decision making. 

If your situation has changed unexpectedly and you need immediate help with aged care services or getting someone to represent you, please contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or visit My Aged Care.