Unspent funds—what are they, and why are they important? Every Home Care Package recipient will eventually have unspent funds in their account. Knowing what these funds are and how to use them is crucial.
What are unspent funds?
Put simply, unspent funds are the total funds left over in your Home Care Package that have not been assigned to a service or a fee. If the cost of your Home Care Package services and fees is less than what you received from your monthly package government subsidy, unspent funds are accrued in your account.
How unspent funds are accrued
Below is an example of how unspent funds are accrued on Home Care Packages.
Our example person, Drew, is on a level 4 Home Care Package and receives a monthly subsidy of $4,713.24. Drew’s care plan has budgeted $3,500 of his monthly funds for various care services that help him stay safe and independent at home. Drew is a full pensioner who self-manages at Trilogy Care, who only charge a 15% flat rate. Therefore his monthly fee is only $706.98. If we put this into our formula, we see that Drew is accruing $506.26 of unspent funds per month.
There are many reasons why a care recipient may begin accruing unspent funds. The most common reasons are:
- Your package has been upgraded
- You require less services
- You have chosen to save funds
- You have not been using services for some time
Managing unspent funds
The Department of Health and Aged Care states that unspent funds are yours to manage, so long as you do not leave aged care. Therefore, it is important to remember that your unspent funds are available to be used whenever required. Alternatively, if you know your future circumstances will change within the next few months, you can choose to continue saving unspent funds. This will mean you have a larger balance available for services in the future.
If you have a self-managed Home Care Package with Trilogy Care, you can simply call your care partner to discuss using your unspent funds effectively. Your care partner will be able to provide you with options for additional support services that your unspent funds can cover.
Changing providers
Your unspent funds are yours to keep, including when changing Home Care Package providers. Within 56 days of terminating your service with a provider, you will receive a written notice. This notice will outline your unspent care amount, any deducted fees (such as exit fees), and the timeframe and method for how they will pay unspent home care amounts.
Funds must be transferred from your original provider to your new provider within 70 days of selecting a new Home Care Package. This option is only available if you choose to remain in care. Otherwise the funds will be returned to the Australian Government.
Using unspent funds with Trilogy Care
At Trilogy Care, we understand that every provider may not match your goals and needs. We can assist you with coordinating your transfer over to our self-managed Home Care Package, where a care partner can help discuss what services to use your unspent fees on.
With our flat 15% fee, we can ensure you have more control over your support services. Our dedicated care partners will assist you in understanding how to manage the unspent funds you have accrued.
If you wish to discuss how Trilogy Care can best manage your unspent funds, give our friendly team a call on 1800 997 038 or contact us online. An online unspent fund example is available here, should you need more details on how to manage your Home Care Package funds.
