ACAT Assessment in Australia — What Replaced It and How to Prepare

If your parent needs government-funded home care, you've probably seen "ACAT assessment" in every search result. The problem: ACAT assessments no longer exist. Since 9 December 2024, the Aged Care Client Assessment Team (ACAT) and Regional Assessment Service (RAS) were merged into the Single Assessment System (SAS). One workforce, one tool, one assessment for all levels of care.

The stakes are the same — this home visit determines whether your parent qualifies for government-funded Support at Home services and how much funding they receive. Here's how the new assessment works and how to prepare.

How the Single Assessment System Replaced ACAT

Under the old system, RAS handled lower-level needs (leading to Level 1–2 packages) and ACAT handled higher-level needs (Level 3–4 packages and residential care). Families often had to go through RAS first, then wait for an ACAT referral if needs escalated — duplicating assessments and adding months of delay.

The SAS eliminated that split. A single assessor now conducts one comprehensive home visit using the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), a computerized scoring system that evaluates the recipient across 12 clinical and functional domains. The IAT uses adaptive questioning — the assessor's initial answers determine which deeper follow-up questions appear. The result is a Support at Home classification (Level 1–8) assigned based on documented need.

What Happens During the Home Visit

The assessor arrives at the parent's home for a face-to-face evaluation that typically lasts 60–90 minutes. They'll ask about and observe:

• Cognition and memory — forgetfulness, disorientation, repetitive questions, leaving appliances on
• Mobility and transfers — ability to stand from a chair, gait stability, fall history
• Continence — bladder or bowel difficulties, use of continence aids
• Nutrition and swallowing — weight loss, choking risk, ability to prepare meals safely
• Skin integrity — pressure sores, slow-healing wounds, chronic swelling
• Pain management — chronic pain interfering with daily activities

The biggest risk: parents masking their difficulties. Many older Australians will tidy up, dress carefully, and perform at their best when a stranger visits. They'll say "I'm managing fine" out of pride or embarrassment. This leads to under-classification and thousands of dollars less in quarterly funding.

How to Prepare for the Assessment

Compile an evidence folder before the visit. This should include:

• GP diagnosis letters and specialist reports (geriatrician, physiotherapist, occupational therapist)
• Cognitive assessment results (e.g., SMMSE scores)
• A medication list with dosages and prescribing doctors
• A falls diary — dates, circumstances, injuries, GP visits resulting from falls
• A 7-day functional needs diary documenting the parent's worst days, not their best

Have an adult child present during the assessment. The parent's self-report will almost always understate their needs. The assessor needs to hear specific examples: "She fell in the hallway last Tuesday and couldn't get up for 40 minutes" carries more weight than "She sometimes has trouble with balance."

Focus on worst days, not average days. The IAT scores functional deficits. If your parent has good days and bad days (common with dementia, Parkinson's, and chronic pain conditions), the bad days are what determine the funding classification.

After the Assessment

The SAS organisation has approximately two weeks to issue a Notice of Decision specifying the assigned Support at Home classification and a priority level (Urgent, High, Medium, or Standard).

If the classification seems too low, families have 28 days from the Notice of Decision to request an internal review through the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Attach any medical evidence that wasn't available during the original assessment.

The national median wait time for full funding allocation after approval is roughly 347 days. During this wait, families can access interim funding — 60% of the approved classification's quarterly budget — to start essential services immediately.

For an assessment preparation framework with clinical diary templates and provider selection tools, see the Australia Home Care Guide.

See more Australia guides →