Urgent aged care placement: what to do when time is short

The first 48 hours

• Ask the hospital social worker to arrange an urgent ACAT assessment — this can happen at the bedside
• Register with My Aged Care (1800 200 422) if you haven't already
• Gather key documents: Medicare card, pension details, any Enduring Power of Attorney
• Start a Centrelink or DVA means assessment early — fee letters take time
• Decide as a family who will make the final decision, and by when

How a bed is found in days

There's no central waiting list — each home keeps its own. In an urgent situation, the practical approach is to contact many homes at once and be ready to accept a suitable vacancy quickly. Homes hold beds for a short time only, so delays in family decisions are the most common reason placements stall.

This is where a placement service earns its fee: we phone homes daily, know which ones genuinely have beds this week, and can tour on your behalf if you can't get there.

You can accept a bed and keep looking

If the only available bed isn't ideal, your loved one can move there and transfer later when a preferred home has a vacancy. Taking a safe bed now is usually better than an extended, unsafe hospital stay.

Before signing anything, make sure you understand the accommodation payment (RAD or DAP) and any extra service fees — we check these with you even on urgent timelines.

What slows urgent placements down

• Waiting for the ACAT assessment — push for it on day one
• Families touring homes one at a time instead of shortlisting in parallel
• Unclear finances — the means assessment and RAD conversation can't be skipped
• Disagreement between siblings with no agreed decision-maker