Aged care in Australia is run by several different organisations, and none of them will tell you that the others exist. People lose weeks ringing the wrong one.
This page is a switchboard. Find your problem, get the number.
I want to get help for myself or a parent
My Aged Care, 1800 200 422. Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 10am to 2pm.
This is where everything starts. They check eligibility and arrange the assessment that almost all subsidised care depends on. They do not deliver care themselves and they cannot send someone out tomorrow.
If you are calling from overseas, the number is +61 2 6289 1555. If you need an interpreter, ring TIS on 131 450 first and ask them to connect you.
I need help right now, today
Nothing in the aged care system moves in a day. If someone is unsafe at home tonight, these are the faster options.
Carer Gateway, 1800 422 737. Carer Gateway says to call this number at any time if you need emergency respite. For everything else the line is staffed Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. If you are the carer and you cannot continue, for any reason, this is the number. They can arrange emergency respite and they do not require the person you care for to have had an aged care assessment.
000 if someone is in immediate danger.
If the situation follows a hospital admission, ask to speak to the hospital social worker or discharge planner before discharge. They have access to short term supports that are much faster to arrange than anything through the normal pathway.
I have a question about fees or the means assessment
Services Australia. They run the income and assets assessment that decides what you contribute. My Aged Care cannot answer questions about your means assessment and will refer you here.
Ask for a Financial Information Service officer. It is free, they are not selling anything, and they are the most underused resource in this entire system. They can explain how a decision was calculated, which is usually what people actually want.
If you are a Department of Veterans' Affairs client, contact DVA rather than Services Australia.
Something has gone wrong with a provider
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, 1800 951 822.
They handle complaints about registered providers, whether that is an aged care home or a home care service. You can complain openly, confidentially, or anonymously, though anonymous limits what they can investigate and means you will not hear the outcome.
You do not have to raise it with the provider first, although often that resolves it faster.
Providers are not permitted to victimise or discriminate against someone because they complained. That protection is in the Aged Care Act 2024.
I want someone independent on my side
Older Persons Advocacy Network, 1800 700 600.
Free, independent, and funded to advocate for the older person rather than for a provider or a government department. They will sit in on meetings, help you write a complaint, and explain what your rights actually are.
Most people have never heard of OPAN. If you are getting nowhere with a provider, ring them before you ring anyone else.
I am caring for someone with dementia
National Dementia Helpline, 1800 100 500. Twenty four hours, every day. Run by Dementia Australia and funded by the Australian Government.
Free, staffed by people who know the territory, and useful for practical questions as well as difficult ones.
Dementia Support Australia, 1800 699 799. Also twenty four hours, but a different service. This one is for changes in behaviour, and it is aimed at carers and care staff who need clinical advice about a specific situation.
I think an older person is being abused or exploited
1800 353 374 connects you to the elder abuse helpline in your state or territory.
If the concern is about a registered aged care provider or its staff, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822 is the right place. If someone is in immediate danger, call 000.
I am unhappy with how a complaint was handled
Ask the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission for an internal review first.
If that does not resolve it, the Commonwealth Ombudsman on 1300 362 072 can review how a government body handled your matter.
A note on why this is so fragmented
Assessment, funding, regulation, complaints and advocacy sit with different bodies by design, so that the organisation paying for care is not the same one judging whether it was any good. The logic is sound. The experience of it, when you are trying to sort out a parent in a hurry, is not.
Keep a note of who you spoke to and when. You will be asked to repeat yourself, and a date and a name saves a great deal of time.