Skip to content Skip to navigation
MENU
COTA Victoria Logo
Login
Get Involved
Home CLOSE
MENU
  • About
    About
    CLOSE MENU
    • Annual reports and financial statements
    • Staff
    • Board of Governance
    • Contact Us
    • Work with us
      • Current Job Opportunities
    • Our supporters
    • COTA Victoria Privacy Statement
  • Policy
    Policy
    CLOSE MENU
    • Our policy priorities
    • Policy positions
    • Stories of Change
    • Policy Development Committee (PDC)
    • Aged Care
      • Telling your story
    • Assistive Technology for All
    • Ageism in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Elder Abuse | Seniors Rights Victoria
    • Social Isolation
    • Submissions
    • Publications
    • End of life
    • COTA Green Sages
    Priorities for older Victorians: Submission for the Victorian State Budget 2023-24
    COTA Victoria's Strategic Plan 2023-2025
  • Information
    Information
    CLOSE MENU
    • Looking for information?
    • COVID-19 resources for older Victorians
    • COTA WISE services
    • How-to guides
    • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
    • Resources
  • News
    News
    CLOSE MENU
    • Latest News
    • Media
      • Media Releases
    • COTA Connects
      • COTA Connects Archive
      • Sign-up for e-Newsletter
    • ONE COTA magazine
  • Events
  • Our Programs
    Our Programs
    CLOSE MENU
    • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
    • Care Finders
    • Employment Support
      • Women Working Together
      • Locals Working Together
    • Living Longer Living Stronger
      • Find a Living Longer Living Stronger program in your area
      • Living Longer Living Stronger Online
      • Exercising at home
        • Random Acts of Exercise
      • Living Longer Living Stronger providers and instructors
    • Victorian Seniors Festival
    • COTA Cycling
  • About
  • Policy
  • Information
  • News
  • Events
  • Our Programs
  • Login
About
  • Annual reports and financial statements
  • Staff
  • Board of Governance
  • Contact Us
  • Work with us
  • Our supporters
  • COTA Victoria Privacy Statement
Work with us
  • Current Job Opportunities
Policy
  • Our policy priorities
  • Policy positions
  • Stories of Change
  • Policy Development Committee (PDC)
  • Aged Care
  • Assistive Technology for All
  • Ageism in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Elder Abuse | Seniors Rights Victoria
  • Social Isolation
  • Submissions
  • Publications
  • End of life
  • COTA Green Sages
Aged Care
  • Telling your story
Information
  • Looking for information?
  • COVID-19 resources for older Victorians
  • COTA WISE services
  • How-to guides
  • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
  • Resources
News
  • Latest News
  • Media
  • COTA Connects
  • ONE COTA magazine
Media
  • Media Releases
COTA Connects
  • COTA Connects Archive
  • Sign-up for e-Newsletter
Our Programs
  • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
  • Care Finders
  • Employment Support
  • Living Longer Living Stronger
  • Victorian Seniors Festival
  • COTA Cycling
Employment Support
  • Women Working Together
  • Locals Working Together
Living Longer Living Stronger
  • Find a Living Longer Living Stronger program in your area
  • Living Longer Living Stronger Online
  • Exercising at home
  • Living Longer Living Stronger providers and instructors
Exercising at home
  • Random Acts of Exercise

Care Finders

In this section

In this section:

  • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
  • Care Finders
  • Employment Support
  • Living Longer Living Stronger
  • Victorian Seniors Festival
  • COTA Cycling

Care Finders

Care Finders

When should I connect a person to a Care Finder at COTA Victoria?

Care Finders support vulnerable older people who would not be able to arrange services without with intensive support and who do not have a family member or friends who can help.

Care Finder services are free as they are fully funded through Primary Health Networks to provide you with personalised, independent information and guidance so that you can access the right aged care services for you.

Who can receive assistance from a Care Finder?

Care Finders are not for everyone. They specifically help vulnerable older Australians who need intensive assistance to access aged care and other supports.

To receive care finder support, a person must:

  • have no carer or support person who can help them, or
  • not have a carer of support person they feel comfortable or trust to support them, and
  • be eligible for government-funded aged care.

In addition, they should have one or more of these reasons for needing intensive support:

  • have difficulty communicating because of language or literacy problems
  • find it difficult to understand information and make decisions
  • be reluctant to engage with aged care or government
  • be in an unsafe situation if they do not receive services.

How do I find a Care Finder organisation near me?

Our team of Care Finders assist primarily those residing in the South East Melbourne Primary Health Network with a focus on the City of Kingston, however if you live outside this area, click here to find a Care Finder organisation local to you.

How does the service work?

If somebody requires assistance with aged care services and a local Care Finder organisation has been contacted, a member of the Care Finder team will meet with them, usually in person. This can be at their home or another place they choose. The Care Finder will ask questions to understand the person’s situation and support them to work through the steps to address their needs.

What help can Care Finders provide?

Care Finders can help people understand what aged care services are available, set up an assessment and find and choose services. They also help people with access to other supports in the community. They can help with both accessing services for the first time and changing or finding new services and supports.

They can help someone with:

  • talking to My Aged Care on their behalf and arranging an assessment
  • attending and providing support at the assessment
  • finding and short-listing aged care providers in their area
  • completing forms and understanding aged care service agreements
  • checking-in once services are up and running to make sure everything is OK
  • solving other challenges and connecting to supports in the community, such as health, mental health, housing and homelessness, drug and alcohol services and community groups.

They will ask some questions about why the person needs help from a Care Finder.

The person must give consent for you to provide any information about them to the care finder organisation. It is best if the person is with you when you make the call.

How do I connect someone else to a Care Finder?

The person must give consent for you to provide any information about them to the care finder organisation. It is best if the person is with you when you make the call.

They will ask some questions about why the person needs help from a care finder.

At present COTA Victoria assists primarily those residing in the South East Melbourne Primary Health Network with a focus on the City of Kingston, however there is a Care Finder organisation for everyone so if you or the person you wish to connect lives outside this area, click here to find a Care Finder organisation local to you.

Contact COTA Victoria’s Care Finder team

Phone:    1300 135 090

Email:     carefinder@cotavic.org.au

Please let us know if English is not your first language and you need an interpreter to support you.

What if a care finder isn’t right for someone?

Most people who need aged care should call My Aged Care on 1800 200 244 or visit myagedcare.gov.au to discuss their needs and arrange an assessment.

If someone would like help to talk to My Aged Care or to use the website they can go to any Services Australia centre. There are Aged Care Specialist officers who give face-to-face help in 70 Services Australia service centres. Visit the Services Australia website to see where these are located or call 1800 227 475.

Other supports and their contact details

  • Advocacy support – contact OPAN (Older Persons Advocacy Network website) or call 1800 700 600
  • Carer support – contact Carer Gateway or call 1800 422 737
  • National Dementia Helpline call 1800 100 50

Listen to Podcast episodes

COTA Victoria’s Care Finder Team Leader, Karen Ivanka, talks with Peter Thomas on the following topics:

  • Podcast #1 – Helping you navigate My Aged Care
  • Podcast #2 – Engaging with the community
  • Podcast #3 – Supporting you in your home

     

Related resources

COTA Victoria Strategic Plan 2023-2025
15 February 2023, COTA Publication
Safeguarding the end of the Rainbow
1 April 2019, COTA Publication
Death of a Partner
1 April 2019, COTA Publication
See more resources

Related submissions

Priorities for older Victorians: Submission for the Victorian State Budget 2023-2024
10 February 2023, COTA Submissions
Inquiry into Support for Older Victorians from Migrant and Refugee Backgrounds
24 February 2022, COTA Submissions
Pre-budget Submission November 2021 Investing in Senior Victorians
15 November 2021, COTA Submissions
See more submissions

Related news

A new link between trusted health services and aged care services
20 March 2023
Care Finder program begins to roll out
30 January 2023
Ways to have your say in the next Victorian election
26 September 2022
Read more news
Sign up for our Newsletter
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Like us on Facebook
COTA Victoria Logo
  • About
  • Policy
  • Information
  • News
  • Events
  • Our Programs
Seniors Rights Victoria Registered Charity
Follow on
Facebook
COTA FEDERATION
  • ACT
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
COTA Western Australia COTA Northern Territory COTA Queensland COTA New South Wales COTA ACT COTA Victoria COTA South Australia COTA Tasmania
Follow on
Twitter
GET INVOLVED
  • Seniors Rights Victoria
  • COTA Connects newsletter
  • Get Involved
  • COTA Insurance
  • Follow on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on LinkedIn
  • Follow on Instagram
  • Contact Us
Seniors Rights Victoria
TERMS PRIVACY CONTACT SITEMAP
© 2023 COTA Victoria ABN 81 960 500 420 WEB DESIGN CODE AND VISUAL
Back to top
All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to registrations, including Email. Any information collected by COTA Victoria is collected via correspondence from you or your organisation. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT