The Continence Aids Payment Scheme helps eligible people in the community buy continence products. Eligibility changes when someone becomes a permanent resident of an Australian Government-funded aged care facility: CAPS cannot continue for that person. The administrative task is to close the payment correctly without creating a gap in pads, pants, catheter-related supplies, toileting support or skin protection at the new facility.
Before the entry date, distinguish residential respite from permanent aged care, check which care and supplies the resident agreement includes, and compare Australian residential aged care homes and services.
Fix the status date before stopping anything
Obtain written confirmation of the entry type and effective date. A respite booking, hospital leave and permanent residential entry are different events. If respite later converts to permanent care, keep both dates and ask Services Australia which one changes CAPS eligibility.
Do not infer status from the expected length of stay or from a household decision to sell the former home. Use the provider’s formal entry record and notify again if the arrangement changes.
Where a respite period spans a scheme payment date, keep the booking agreement and actual departure date. Services Australia can then distinguish a temporary absence from the later permanent entry without relying on memory or a bank transaction.
Close the CAPS ledger with Services Australia
Contact the CAPS team through the latest change-of-circumstances channel. Provide the requested recipient, facility, entry and nominee details. Keep the report date, reference number and any written reply. The aged care provider may confirm facts, but the recipient or authorised nominee remains responsible for ensuring the scheme record is updated.
CAPS can be paid annually or in two instalments, so a deposit may cover time on both sides of the move. Leave an unexplained amount untouched. Ask Services Australia whether it was payable, will be adjusted or must be repaid; do not invent a daily refund calculation.
If an overpayment is identified, ask for the calculation, period and repayment options in writing. Do not reimburse the facility or product supplier instead of Services Australia. A nominee should keep the correspondence and use the formal review path if the recorded facts are wrong.
Open the facility supply pathway first
Before cancelling community orders, ask the facility which continence products will be available on the first shift, who orders stock and how an urgent shortage is handled. Record brand, design, size, usual daily quantity, night product, bedding protection and any catheter or bowel-related item used.
Send enough agreed transition stock if the facility requests it, clearly labelled and stored safely. Do not send an unlabelled bulk supply or assume staff can use every product. Once the residential pathway is functioning, stop automatic deliveries that could create waste or duplicate charges.
For a move between residential facilities, send the latest product specification and consumption record with consent. Confirm that the receiving site has stock before departure. CAPS does not restart merely because the recipient changes provider, room or state.
Run a fresh continence assessment
Community consumption is useful history, not the new care plan. Ask a qualified clinician to review bladder and bowel patterns, mobility, cognition, toileting opportunities, constipation, medicines, fluid intake, skin and infection symptoms. The outcome should describe proactive toileting as well as absorbent products.
Give staff a brief baseline: what has worked, leakage pattern, preferred language, assistance needs, previous pressure or moisture injury and signs that have indicated infection. A new or worsening symptom needs clinical assessment; it should not be managed only by increasing absorbency.
Set a review date after the first week and again after any product update. Compare comfort, leakage, skin, night sleep, toileting success and staff response. A written trial prevents a temporary substitute from becoming the permanent default without evaluation.
Resolve fit, choice and private purchases
The facility’s standard item may not fit the recipient or may undermine dignity. Ask how alternatives are trialled and who authorises a change. If the recipient prefers a clinically suitable product beyond the standard range, obtain a written explanation of sourcing, included supply and any proposed private charge.
Track leakage, skin condition, night disturbance and actual changes for a short trial. The cheapest item is not economical if poor fit increases laundry, falls or skin treatment. Equally, a familiar brand is not automatically superior after mobility or body shape changes.
Protect dignity on every shift
Agree response times, disposal, privacy, preferred gender of assisting staff where practicable, night checks and how the recipient signals for help. Continence products must never replace timely toilet assistance for someone who can participate. Put the plan where day, evening and agency staff can find it.
Escalate recurrent leakage, odour, pain, retention, bowel change, fever or skin damage through nursing and medical channels. Record product substitutions and stock outages so procurement problems are not mistaken for unavoidable incontinence.
Ask the clinical manager how shortages are reported across shifts and who can authorise emergency purchasing. Review repeated substitutions at the care conference. A supply-chain problem needs an operational remedy as well as attention to the individual recipient.
Update nominees, suppliers and other schemes
Ensure Services Australia holds the correct nominee authority and contact details. Tell the pharmacy or retailer which orders stop and ask about unopened-stock returns. Update the personal budget so CAPS is no longer treated as continuing income.
DVA, NDIS and other supports have separate rules and records; a CAPS update does not notify them automatically. Report the move wherever required and obtain an individual decision rather than assuming all continence funding ends in the same way.
Does a respite stay end CAPS?
The exclusion addressed here is permanent residence in an Australian Government-funded aged care facility. Temporary care can be treated differently, and other eligibility exclusions may apply. Confirm the exact status and latest scheme rule with Services Australia instead of stopping payment from the word “respite” alone.
What should happen to a final CAPS deposit?
Keep it unspent until Services Australia confirms entitlement for the relevant period. A deposit after entry may still need adjustment or repayment. Retain payment statements, bank entries and the entry confirmation so the scheme can reconcile the dates.
Who pays for a preferred continence product in the facility?
Confirm the assessed product, included residential supply, permitted optional charge and purchasing arrangement directly with the provider, and confirm CAPS cessation or adjustment with Services Australia. Rules and individual needs can change. This guide does not decide entitlement, repayment or which product is clinically appropriate.