Most falls happen in the bathroom and on the back step. Support at Home funds fixing both — separately from your care budget, so it costs you no care hours. We handle the assessment, the quotes and the approval.
Grab rails beside the toilet and in the shower, a hobless walk-in shower so there is no step to climb over, a fold-down shower seat, non-slip flooring, and a raised toilet with rails either side.
Ramps in place of steps at the front or back door, handrails along the path, widened doorways for a walker or wheelchair, and lever door handles that arthritic hands can actually turn.
A stairlift where the bedroom or bathroom is upstairs, sturdy handrails on both sides of the stairs, and contrast-marked step edges so each tread is easy to see.
Brighter lighting where it matters, sensor lights on the route to the toilet at night, non-slip flooring through the wet areas, and levelling the thresholds people trip on.
Seven steps. The one in red is the gate — nothing proceeds until the government approves, and no work can be paid for retrospectively.
It has to start with the older person or the family — a supplier cannot push a modification. Tell your concierge what is going wrong: the shower is frightening, the back step is too high.
An occupational therapist visits and assesses the house against how your parent actually moves through it. The OT fee is paid from the Support at Home care budget.
The OT writes the recommended modifications into a report. Everything after this point is measured against that report — it is what the government approves against.
We take the report to licensed tradespeople and come back with a written price. Nothing is booked until you have seen it and agreed.
Assessment, quote and supporting paperwork go to the government together. Payment can only be made after they approve — this is the step that decides whether it proceeds.
Built by licensed tradespeople to the quoted scope, for safety rather than decoration. Anything beyond the scope goes back for a new quote instead of being added on the day.
You check the finished work and we show your parent how to use what has changed. CareU charges 15% of the quoted cost, capped at $1,500 per home-modification job.
No, but for anything structural you will need the owner's written permission. We can help you write to a landlord or a strata committee. Non-structural items — a fold-down shower seat, sensor lights, rails fixed to a stud — are usually far easier to get agreed.
No. Assistive technology and home modifications are funded separately from your ongoing Support at Home budget, so paying for a ramp does not cost you care hours.
There are three tiers: under $500 for small items, up to $2,000 for more significant work, and up to $15,000 for larger modifications or complex needs. Which tier applies is decided by the assessment, not by asking.
Realistically two to four months from the first conversation to the trades finishing — most of that is waiting on the OT assessment and the government decision, neither of which we control. We will tell you honestly where your application is sitting.
Say so at the assessment. An OT can plan for where someone is heading rather than only where they are today, which avoids paying twice — widening a doorway once for a walker and again later for a wheelchair.
No. Approval has to come before the work, not after. Work already done cannot be reimbursed, which is the single most expensive mistake families make here.
Send us a photo. A bilingual concierge will tell you honestly whether it is likely to be funded before anyone books an assessment.