Attendant Care

Any decisions on whether it is appropriate for clients to continue to receive attendant care services provided by a partner, relative or friend must be informed by evidence of the client's current needs and circumstances. It is important that where clients have been receiving attendant care services for a long period of time, particularly where that support is provided by family that decisions are not made to immediately cease or change services.

Clients with high or complex care needs will generally be receiving ongoing nursing care services through the Community Nursing Program, in addition to attendant care services. In this circumstance, even if exceptional circumstances are found to apply, a Rehabilitation Coordinator may only approve a limited range of simple attendant care services to be provided by the partner, relative or friend. This might include, assistance with feeding and/or drinking, setting up computers or other communication devices, or assisting with physiotherapy or speech pathology exercises.

What are “exceptional circumstances”?

A delegate may consider that it is reasonable for a partner, relative or friend to provide simple attendant care services to a client when exceptional circumstances apply. These circumstances may include instances where:

In post-disaster recovery and relief periods, client benefits may be one source of assistance for clients, among a number of others. 

The avenues of assistance for DVA clients affected by natural disasters include:

An important consideration with provision of attendant care services is the extent to which such services will assist the client to live in his/her own accommodation rather than in an institutional environment (such as residential care or a hospital based setting).

The goal of providing attendant care services and support is encourage the client to live as independent a life as possible within their capabilities.

Making a claim for attendant care services

Claims for attendant care services must be investigated with reference to whether the services are reasonably required by the client and to ensure that the need for the services are due to the client’s service related injury or disease. Claims must be supported by documentary evidence from the client’s treating doctor, other suitably qualified medical or allied health professional or rehabilitation service provider.

Where clients have complex injuries, or can be regarded as having high needs, the Community Nursing Program must be involved in assessing the client’s nursing and attendant care needs.

It is important that attendant care service providers have appropriate and sufficient skills to enable them to provide high quality personal care, in line with best practice and industry standards. A care plan should be developed to direct the services to be provided to the client, and ensure that their needs are being effectively met. There are clearly defined roles and responsibilities that related to the provision of attendant care services. It is really important that these are communicated clearly to the client.

The DVA delegate is responsible for determining:

The medical or other information provided in any rehabilitation assessment may help substantiate the need for attendant care services. Such an assessment might also provide important information about what other assistance may be provided to address a client’s needs and facilitate independence.

This could, for example, includes aids and appliances that could assist a person to manage tasks more independently. The provision of aids and appliances may have an impact on the level of attendant care services that the person may require in the future.

The attendant care provisions cannot be used to fund the costs of an attendant carer travelling with a veteran. This is because travel and accommodation costs do not fit the definition of attendant care services in section 213 of the MRCA and section 4 of the DRCA.