Veterans Home Care (VHC)

What is Veterans' Home Care?

Veterans Home Care is designed to assist those veterans and war widows or widowers who wish to continue living at home, but who need a small amount of practical help.

What services are available under the program?

VHC provides a range of home care services designed to meet your needs, including:

• Domestic assistance: household cleaning, dishwashing, clothes washing and ironing, shopping for the veteran, and bill paying.
• Personal care: assistance with daily self-care tasks such as eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, grooming, getting in and out of bed, and moving about the house.
• Safety-related home and garden maintenance: tasks such as replacing light bulbs and tap washers, or other tasks you and the service provider agree on. The focus is on keeping the home safe and habitable by minimising environmental health and safety hazards. It does not include major home repairs such as gutter replacement, landscaping, branch lopping, tree felling or tree removal.
• Respite care: temporary relief for a carer who has the responsibility for a veteran or war widow/widower requiring ongoing care, attention and support, providing an alternative form of care that gives the carer a break.
• Social support: assisting clients in social activities, attending recreational activities and reminder calls.

Who is eligible to be assessed to receive services?

To be assessed for Veterans' Home Care services you must be:

• an Australian veteran or mariner, or
• a widow or widower of an Australian veteran or mariner

…and have:

• the Gold Card (Repatriation Health Card for All Conditions), or
• the White Card (Repatriation Health Card for Specific Conditions).

Access to services

To arrange an assessment for services, call the Veterans' Home Care Assessment Agency on 1300 550 450. Please only call this number for assessment information.

More information is available on the DVA Veterans' Home Care (VHC) page.