Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre/CarerLinks North

Quick Summary

Location(s):

Chifley Drive, Preston

Fees

For information about fees please contact one of our offices.

Newsletter(s)

2011 Summer Edition

2009 Winter Edition

Respite and support services to support carers in their roles as carers.

The Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre / CarerLinks North are three co-located services providing free information and assistance to carers and the broader community in the Northern Metropolitan sub-region of Melbourne (which includes the municipalities of Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whittlesea and Yarra). These services are:

Commonwealth Carelink Centre
Commonwealth Carer Respite Centre
CarerLinks North

The focus of our respite services are to support carers in their caring role, while Carelink is an information service aimed at helping people live independently at home.

The services include:

Who are Carers?

Carers are family members and friends who look after someone who is frail aged, has an ongoing disability or a chronic or mental illness. The person they care for has difficulty managing at home or in the community without assistance.

Why is respite important?

Carers are often on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They need time out to attend to other matters, other family members and above all, have time for themselves. Respite can reduce the stress of caring and assist carers to look after their own health and wellbeing. Respite is most successful when it provides carers with a break as well as providing the person being cared for with a positive experience. Carers can relax if they know that the person they care for is well looked after and happy.

Carelink

Commonwealth Carelink Centres aim to help you live independently in your own home. Anyone who needs information about community aged care, disability and other support services can call us on 1800 052 222. We can provide advice on;

the range of services available and how to contact them
who is eligible to receive the services
whether there are any costs associated with receiving the services, and
aged care assessment services for access to Community Aged Care Packages or entry into aged care homes

Referrals

Methods of Referral

We accept self-referrals and referrals from Service Providers. Referrals can be made by:

phone by calling our Intake Service on (03) 9495 2500 / 1800 059 059 (reception)
fax (03) 9495 2599

Carer Referral

Confidential Referral Cover Sheet

Consumer Consent to Share Information

Consumer Information

Functional Assessment Summary

Summary and Referral Information

In addition please include:

Carer / consumer consent
When the request requires confidential information to be forwarded to a third party.
For example, referrals to the Aged Residential Respite Program where information
about the carer and care recipient will need to be forwarded to Aged Care Homes,
GPs, and ACAS
Any tools which will be relevant to the referral, for example, Service Coordination
Plan
The Aged Care Client Record (ACCR) if available and relevant

If you have any queries regarding these forms please call our Information and Response on (03) 94952500.

Eligibility

Any carer living in the Northern Metropolitan Region, which includes the municipalities of Moreland, Darebin, Banyule, Yarra, Nillumbik, Hume and Whittlesea. Carers can be parents, partners, spouses, children or friends who provide support for people who are aged, disabled or chronically ill.