CHSP and geat2GO: how a personal alarm is requested through Indigo's platform

What CHSP is, and who it is for

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme is the entry level of Australian aged care at home. It is for older people who need a small amount of help to stay independent: domestic assistance, transport, meals, social support, and goods, equipment and assistive technology. People come into it through a My Aged Care assessment, and it sits below Support at Home, which is for people who need ongoing, coordinated care.

The part of CHSP that matters here is goods, equipment and assistive technology, usually shortened to GEAT. A personal alarm is the kind of item GEAT can supply. What makes CHSP different from every other pathway on this site is that the family does not order the alarm and the provider does not buy it. A clinician requests it, on a platform, and the platform supplies it.

What geat2GO is

geat2GO is the online platform Indigo runs for CHSP goods, equipment and assistive technology. Indigo is the national provider of that part of the program. A registered occupational therapist, physiotherapist or aged care assessor logs in, chooses the item for the client from the platform's catalogue, and the item is supplied through geat2GO's suppliers. The client does not pay for the item, though CHSP asks people to contribute to the cost of their services where they can.

Three rules decide whether a request can be made at all. The client must have a My Aged Care referral for CHSP goods, equipment and assistive technology, which carries a referral code. The request must be logged by an eligible clinician or assessor, not by the family. And the client must be present when it is logged, so the clinician can confirm the need and explain the item.

Getting the referral code

Everything starts with My Aged Care. Ring 1800 200 422 or apply online, and an assessor will arrange an assessment, usually at home. The assessment looks at what the person can do, what they need help with, whether they have fallen, and who is around. Say plainly during it that the person needs a way to call for help when they are alone, at home and when they are out. That sentence is what turns into a referral for goods, equipment and assistive technology.

When the assessment is done, the person receives a letter and a My Aged Care record with their referrals. The referral for GEAT carries a code. That code is what the occupational therapist, physiotherapist or assessor enters on geat2GO when they log the request. Keep the letter; the code is on it.

If the assessment finds that the person needs ongoing care rather than entry-level support, the outcome is a Support at Home plan instead, and the alarm is then bought by the provider from the plan's assistive technology funding. That is a different process with its own paperwork, and our Support at Home page walks through it.

Who logs the request

A registered occupational therapist, a physiotherapist or an aged care assessor. If the person already sees an OT, ask them first. If not, the assessor who did the My Aged Care assessment may be able to log it, or a CHSP allied health service can. Community health centres, some GPs' allied health referrals and private OTs all do this work. Ask whether they use geat2GO before you book, because not every clinician does.

The clinician needs three things at the appointment: the referral code, the client in the room, and a clear picture of the need. A person who goes out alone needs a mobile alarm rather than a home unit, and it helps to say so, because the platform's catalogue has both kinds. Our guide to choosing a personal alarm sets out the questions an OT will ask, and our fall detection page gives the honest line on what a fall sensor does, which clinicians appreciate when they write the request. No fall detector catches every fall.

Where SOS Everywhere fits

We are not an Indigo supply partner. That means a geat2GO request cannot choose the SOS Everywhere Pendant or Watch, and we do not pretend otherwise. If a family comes to us with a CHSP referral, we take your name, email and suburb on the through your provider page and pass you to a care provider who can find the quickest way to the alarm you need.

Sometimes that is the CHSP request as described here, with a mobile alarm from the platform's catalogue. Sometimes it is a different pathway that fits the person better. Someone with a Support at Home plan uses that. Someone with an NDIS plan can buy a personal alarm under $1,500 as low-cost assistive technology, with no quote and no assessment. In New South Wales, EnableNSW funds one non-monitored mobile alarm requested by a registered occupational therapist. And someone who would rather not wait can ask a care provider for the pendant, with 12 months of SIM service included and no monthly fee.

None of these is CHSP, and we would rather say that than sell an alarm through a door that is not open to us yet. If Indigo's supply partner list changes, this page will change with it.

What to tell the clinician

The request goes better when the clinician has the practical facts in front of them, so bring a short list to the appointment. Say whether the person lives alone and whether they go out on their own, because that is what separates a mobile alarm from a home unit in the platform's catalogue. Say where the falls or the frights have happened: the bathroom, the garden, the walk to the shops. Say who is around to answer a call, and whether anyone is, because a person with nobody to ring needs a monitored service and a person with three good contacts may not. Say whether the person wears a watch, showers alone, and can find a button without looking. And bring the My Aged Care letter with the referral code on it, because without the code the request cannot be logged that day. A clinician who hears all of that in five minutes can choose the right item on geat2GO and explain it to the client while they are in the room, which is what the platform's rules require.

What to expect on timing

We publish no timing for geat2GO, because it is not our process. In general, the assessment is the slow part, and the request itself is quick once a clinician has the code and the client in front of them. If the wearer has had a fall or is coming home from hospital, tell My Aged Care that when you ring; assessments can be prioritised. If the timing does not work, the private and NDIS paths are the ones that move in days rather than weeks.

The short version

CHSP equipment comes through geat2GO, requested by an OT, physio or aged care assessor with the client present and a My Aged Care referral code. Get the assessment first, say the person needs to call for help at home and out, and take the code to a clinician who uses the platform. We are not on it, so if you want SOS Everywhere specifically, use Support at Home, the NDIS or EnableNSW through a care provider, and the through your provider page will put you in touch with one.