1.1.P.426 Private home of the carer and/or care receiver (CA)

Definition

A private home can be any residence that a person regards as his or her home provided that:

• the person actually lives in that residence
• the person carries out his or her main domestic functions there, and
• there are NO commercial care arrangements in place for the provision of personal care to a care receiver.

Provided that these 3 criteria are met, a private home can be a house, unit, shed, caravan, campervan, yacht or any other type of structure.

Private home may be the residence of the carer/s and/or the care receiver

The private home in which the care and attention is provided may be the residence of both the carer and care receiver (section 954) OR, from 1 September 2004, the residence of the carer or care receiver (section 954A) provided additional eligibility criteria are met.

Carer & care receiver reside together - section 954

In order to qualify for CA under section 954 of the SSAct, the carer and the care receiver must reside in the same private home. The following situations do NOT satisfy this requirement: a retirement village, block of flats or caravan park setting where the carer lives in one unit and the care receiver lives in another unit (even when the 2 units are immediately adjacent).

Exception: It is acceptable for the carer and the care receiver to live in separate homes when the carer and care receiver typically spend each night together and have at least one meal each day together under the same roof, and:

• there is an adjoining door that allows unhindered access between the 2 homes
• the 2 homes are within the same property boundary AND the immediate vicinity of each other (e.g. a granny flat situation), OR
• the carer resides with the care receiver or the care receiver resides with the carer, even though they each maintain separate residences.

Carer & care receiver (CA (adult)) do not reside together - section 954A

There is no co-residency requirement for qualification under section 954A of the SSAct, so the private home does NOT have to be the residence of both the carer and the care receiver. The required care and attention must still be provided to the care receiver in a private home but it may be the residence of either the carer OR the care receiver. Therefore, the carer may go to the care receiver's home to provide care, or the care receiver may go to the carer's home to receive care.

It is intended that the person's home will be regarded as the dwelling in which the person actually lives or resides. This excludes situations where care is provided outside the carer or the care receiver's private home, such as in an institution or hospital.

Multiple carers (from 1 September 2004)

If there are 2 non-co-resident carers caring for the same care receiver, the required care and attention may be provided in either the care receiver's home, or in the home of either carer.