Preparing for Your Aged Care Assessment: What to Expect and What to Have Ready
17 August 2026
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17 August 2026
An aged care assessment is a conversation in your lounge room, not an exam. Its purpose is to work out what support would genuinely help you stay living at home.
That said, the outcome shapes what you're approved for, so it's worth walking into it prepared. Here's what happens, what to have ready, and how to make sure the picture the assessor forms is an accurate one.
You may have been told to wait for an ACAT assessment. The name has changed.
Assessments previously provided by Aged Care Assessment Teams are now called comprehensive assessments, and the organisations that carry them out, previously known as ACAT and RAS teams, are now simply called assessment organisations. The visit itself works the same way. If a doctor, hospital or friend still uses the old term, they're talking about the same thing.
There are two: a home support assessment and a comprehensive assessment.
The split exists so people with lower needs aren't put through more assessment than they need, and people with more complex needs get a thorough one. You don't choose which one you have. It's decided based on your circumstances, not requested by you or your provider.
Either way, the assessment is done in person, usually at your own home.
Two categories: things to find, and things to think about.
Documents to have on the table
Your Medicare card
One other form of ID, such as a driver licence, healthcare card, passport or DVA card
Any referrals or reports from your doctor
Your doctor's contact details
Details of any support you already receive, formal or informal
Things to think about beforehand
Your goals, needs, wishes and preferences. The assessor will ask, and "I'm not sure" gets you a vaguer support plan.
Which everyday tasks have become difficult, and roughly when that started.
What you want to keep doing yourself. This matters as much as what you want help with.
Any questions you want answered. Write them down. They evaporate on the day.
You can have someone present. That might be a family member, friend, carer, registered supporter, Elder Care Support worker, care finder or interpreter.
It's worth having someone there if you'd like it, for two reasons. A second person remembers what was said afterwards. And a family member often notices things you've normalised, like how long the stairs now take.
If English isn't your first language, ask for an interpreter when the assessment is being arranged rather than relying on a relative to translate on the day.
The conversation covers your situation, your health, your lifestyle, and how you're going with completing daily tasks around the home.
In practice that means questions about showering and dressing, meals and shopping, housework, getting around inside and outside the home, medication, how you're sleeping, who's around you, and what a normal week looks like. Some of it will feel personal. None of it is a test you can fail.
This is where people unintentionally undersell themselves, and it's the single thing most worth getting right.
It's a natural instinct to answer "how are you managing?" with "oh, I get by." On the day of an assessment, that answer can produce a support plan that doesn't match the reality of a difficult week.
Some suggestions that help, all of them simply about accuracy rather than exaggeration:
Describe a normal week, not your best day. If two days in seven are hard, say so.
Talk about effort, not just capability. Being able to shower is different from a shower taking forty minutes and leaving you exhausted.
Mention what you've stopped doing. Gardening you gave up, meals you no longer cook, outings you now skip. That's often the clearest evidence of change.
Keep a short diary for a week or two beforehand. A few lines a day is enough, and it turns "I get by" into something specific.
Let your support person add what you've left out. Agree beforehand that they can.
You're allowed to ask things. A few that are genuinely useful:
Which type of assessment is this, and what does it cover?
What happens next, and roughly when should I expect to hear?
What will be in my support plan?
If my situation gets worse, what do I do?
Who do I contact if I have questions later?
If you're approved, you'll receive a Notice of Decision letter, along with a support plan setting out the care and services that will best help you. The plan may also include things intended to help you regain confidence and get back to daily activities you've dropped.
Read it properly. If something in it doesn't match what you described, that's worth raising straight away rather than after services begin.
Approval and funding are two different things. Under the Support at Home program, ongoing funding is allocated when it becomes available, based on your approval date and priority category, so there can be a wait between the letter and support starting.
Assessments describe a moment in time. If your situation changes significantly, whether after a fall, a hospital stay, or simply a gradual decline, you can contact My Aged Care about being reassessed. You can ask sooner than feels necessary — there's no need to wait until it feels urgent.
Nothing stops you arranging support privately in the meantime, and there are advantages to using that period rather than sitting on your hands. It lets you find someone who actually suits you without time pressure, and there's no requirement to change workers later simply because funding arrangements change.
CareVicinity is an Australia-wide marketplace where you can browse independent support workers, compare their experience, languages and rates, and choose who you'd like to work with. Care seekers pay no platform fee. CareVicinity's 12.5% platform fee applies to the support worker and is already reflected in the rate you see. Availability of specific services and workers may vary by location.
How long does the assessment take? There's no fixed length. It depends on how much there is to talk through, so it's worth not rushing it. What is fixed is the contact window: an assessment organisation will call within 2 to 6 weeks of your application to arrange a time.
Do I need to tidy the house first? No. Assessors are looking at how you're managing, not judging your housekeeping. A house that reflects a normal week is more useful than one cleaned specially.
What if I disagree with the outcome? Contact My Aged Care. Your circumstances can be reassessed, and the outcome letter explains what to do if you want the decision reviewed.
Get the documents together, spend ten minutes writing down what a normal week actually looks like, and decide who you'd like with you on the day. That's most of the preparation done.
If you're already thinking about who will provide support once you're approved, you can browse independent support workers in your area or read about how CareVicinity works. More questions? Check our FAQs.