Support at home
We’re here to help you get your life back on track after your transport accident. To help you manage your tasks at your home, we can pay for home support services in Australia.
The home support services we can pay for
The support at home services we can approve and pay include:
- Household cleaning
- Gardening
- Childcare. (If you were caring for your child in the 30 days before your accident, or you or your domestic partner were pregnant at the time of your accident).
We can also pay for occasional or seasonal tasks you would normally do. For example, cleaning windows and clearing guttering.
You can ask the TAC to pay for these supports when they are:
- recommended by your treating health provider
- to help you with the tasks that you normally did before you were injured.
We’ll work with you and your health professionals to make sure you receive appropriate support services at home to help with your injuries. We may contact your doctor or another provider to check on your progress or ask for an assessment.
We do this to make sure that:
- You have access to the appropriate treatment and supports you need for your transport accident injuries
- You get evidence-based treatment and do not receive unnecessary interventions
- You continue to get your life back on track and have functional independence.
When a family member dies in a transport accident
If a member of your family died in a transport accident, or because of their injuries, we will pay for home services for the tasks they did. This includes child care.
We will pay for these services for 5 years after the date of their death.
Who can provide home services
Your home services provider must be registered with the TAC before they can provide home services.
Under Victorian and Commonwealth law, the TAC can only pay for childcare by providers approved by the Federal Government.
You can provide child care services for TAC clients if you are approved by the Department of Education and appear in the Australian Government’s Child Care Finder.
How we pay for home services
We pay your home services provider when you have given them your TAC claim number and a copy of our approval.
If you have to pay, use myTAC to send a copy of your receipt to us and we will repay you.
We pay for your services in line with our responsibilities under the Transport Accident Act 1986.
How much we can pay
We can pay for a mix of home support services for up to 40 hours per week total.
There is a limit on how many hours of child care we can pay if you were employed at the time of your accident.
| Hours per week in paid employment | Child care we can pay |
|---|---|
| 5 or less | Up to 40 hours |
| 15 hours | Up to 30 hours |
| 25 hours | Up to 20 hours |
| 35 hours or more | Up to 10 hours |
We will pay for your treatment and services according to our fee schedule. If your provider charges more than the TAC rate, you may need to pay the difference. For a list of TAC rates, see Home services payment limits.
How long we can pay
Services are available for up to 5 years after your accident. If you were severely injured or suffered a permanent disability because of your accident, you need our approval to receive support at home after this period.
Childcare services cannot be extended beyond 5 years.
What we won’t pay for
We can’t pay for services that:
- Exceed 40 hours per week
- Are performed by family and friends (except for registered childcare)
- Occur after 5 years from the date of accident or death of your loved one, except if you have suffered a severe injury or permanent disability
- Were not done by the injured person before the transport accident, unless the person was pregnant at the time of their accident
- Are not related to the transport accident injuries
- Are carried out at more than one home.
For providers
If you are a provider of home services, click below on the relevant TAC Provider Guideline for more information.
