For a family navigating dementia, one appointment carries enormous weight: the aged care assessment. It determines the funding your person receives to stay safe and supported at home, and because dementia is so easy to underestimate in a short visit, families often walk away with less funding than they genuinely need. The good news is that preparation makes a real difference. Here’s the plain-language guide to preparing for a dementia care assessment.
Why the Assessment Matters So Much
When someone registers with My Aged Care, they’re assessed to determine their Support at Home classification, which sets their funding level (there are eight levels, ranging from around $11,800 to $78,100 a year). For dementia, getting assessed at the right level is critical, because dementia care needs grow over time and often require substantial support.
The assessment now uses a structured tool (the Integrated Assessment Tool), and while it’s designed to be consistent, it can only reflect what the assessor actually learns during the visit. That’s exactly why how you prepare, and what you communicate, shapes the outcome.
The Golden Rule: Describe the Hardest Days
The single most important principle is this: describe the hardest days, not the best ones. People with dementia frequently “show well” for a short visit, rallying for a stranger, appearing more capable than they are day to day. This is sometimes called “showtiming”, and it can lead directly to an assessment that funds the good hour rather than the difficult reality.
The way you describe needs matters enormously. Vague descriptions produce weak assessments; specific, functional descriptions produce accurate ones. Here’s the difference in practice.
As the examples show, the goal is to describe concretely what the person cannot do, what support they need, and what happens without it. “Mum manages okay” tells the assessor little; “Mum leaves the stove on, can’t manage her medications, and wanders at night, so she needs supervision throughout the day” tells them what they actually need to know to fund appropriate support.
Prepare Before the Visit
Preparation is where good assessments are won. In the lead-up, keep a simple diary of difficult days, noting what happened, what help was needed, and any risks (wandering, falls, missed medication, confusion, agitation). This gives you concrete examples rather than trying to recall them on the spot.
Think through a typical day and where support is needed: morning routine, meals, medication, personal care, mobility, behaviour, night-time. And consider the specific risks dementia brings, safety, wandering, nutrition, medication management, because these justify support and are easy to forget to mention.
Have the Right Person There
This is essential for dementia. Have a family member or carer present who sees the daily reality and can describe what actually happens, because the person with dementia may not have insight into their own difficulties, or may minimise them out of pride or confusion. The assessor needs the full picture, and often only a close family member can provide it.
You’re entitled to have someone with you, a family member, carer, advocate or interpreter. Don’t attend without that support if you can help it, because a person with dementia describing their own needs alone frequently results in an under-assessment.
Bring Evidence
Bring any medical documentation about the dementia diagnosis and its progression, reports from the GP, geriatrician, or memory clinic, and any allied health assessments. Evidence that documents the diagnosis, its stage, and its functional impact strengthens the case for appropriate funding. If there’s a dementia and cognition supplement the person may qualify for, ask about it, it’s additional funding that recognises the extra support dementia often requires.
If the Assessment Falls Short
If the outcome doesn’t reflect your person’s real needs, don’t accept it as final. You can request a reassessment, and if the person’s condition has progressed (as dementia does), a reassessment can move them to a higher funding level. Free advocacy through the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN, 1800 700 600) can help you challenge an assessment that misses the mark. The National Dementia Helpline (1800 100 500) can also guide you through the process. Everything starts at My Aged Care.
The Bottom Line
A dementia care assessment decides your person’s funding, and dementia is uniquely easy to underestimate in a short visit. Prepare by keeping a diary of hard days, describing needs specifically and functionally rather than vaguely, having a family member present who sees the real picture, and bringing medical evidence. Describe the hardest days, not the best ones, and if the assessment falls short, seek a reassessment with advocacy support. Preparation is what secures the funding your family genuinely needs. This is general information, not aged care, medical or financial advice.
Epik Wire covers dementia and aged care in plain language for older Australians, families and carers. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
