Is funding available?

The Continence Aids Payment Scheme (CAPS) is an Australian Government Scheme that provides a payment to assist eligible people who have permanent and severe incontinence to meet some of the cost of their continence products.

Who can apply for the scheme?

A person is eligible for CAPS if they are five years of age or older and have one of the following:

• Permanent and severe loss of bladder and/or bowel function caused by an eligible neurological condition; or
• Permanent and severe loss of bladder and/or bowel function caused by another condition, provided the person has a Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card; or if under 16 years, the custodial parent/guardian has a Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card.

A person is not eligible for CAPS if:

• They are not an Australian citizen or a permanent Australian resident.
• They are a high care resident in an Australian Government funded aged care home.
• The person receives an Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) or an EACH Dementia (EACHD) package and continence products are negotiated as part of the applicant's care plan.
• The person is eligible for assistance with continence products under the Rehabilitation Appliances Program (RAP).
• The person's incontinence is transient (non permanent); can be treated conservatively (eg. through pelvic floor muscle exercises) with medication or with surgery; or is confined to night time bed wetting (enuresis).
• The person's incontinence results from a condition other than an eligible neurological condition AND they do not have Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card entitlement.

What about State / Territory schemes?

If a person is eligible for the CAPS, and is currently receiving assistance with continence (or continence related) products through a State or Territory government funded scheme, they should contact their scheme manager to find out if the assistance will be affected by their eligibility for the CAPS.

How do I apply?

Applicants need to complete a CAPS application form, which includes a Health Report. A health professional must complete the Health Report component and the completed application must be returned to Medicare Australia.

Medicare Australia will process the application, and if the applicant is determined eligible, make the payment to their nominated bank account.If the application is incomplete or information is not valid, Medicare Australia will contact the applicant for further information.

If clients are unable to complete an application form in certain circumstances, a representative may complete it on their behalf (see the CAPS application form and guidelines for required criteria).

If you would like a CAPS application form contact:

• Medicare Australia on 13 20 11 Select Option 1
• National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66

You can also download the form from www.bladderbowel.gov.au

How much is the payment and how often will it be made?

CAPS clients will receive up to $497.79 which will be indexed annually. Applicants can choose one full payment in July, or two half payments in July and January each year.

Can I authorise my payment to a representative or organisation?

Yes, a payment can be made directly into a representative's bank account (details of the relationship are required) or to a nominated organisation (which will assist the person to purchase their products). For more information on who can receive the payment see the CAPS application form and guidelines or visit www.bladderbowel.gov.au 

Will the CAPS payment affect my income?

No. The CAPS payment is income tax exempt and will not be included in any Centerlink assessment as income.

For further information 

For CAPS appilcation and payment inquiries contact:
Medicare Australia
13 20 11 and Select option 1
Call Medicare Australia for assistance with completing the CAPS application form or enquiries regarding the CAPS payment.

For information about bladder and bowel control problems, continence product advice, referrals to continence services and information about your eligibility for funding schemes:
National Continence Helpline 
1800 33 00 66

For further information about the CAPS schemes visit:
Bladder Bowel website
www.bladderbowel.gov.au  

MASS provides access to subsidy funding assistance for the provision of MASS
approved aids to eligible Queensland residents with permanent and stabilised
conditions or disabilities. These aids are to assist people to live at home and avoid
premature or inappropriate residential care or hospitalisation.

Once you have been approved for subsidy funding assistance, MASS will place an
order with a MASS approved company/supplier who will have a courier deliver the
aids to your home.

You may be eligible for assistance through MASS if you meet the following:-
A.  You are a permanent resident of Queensland and currently hold, in your own
right, ONE of the following cards:-
          - Centrelink Health Care Card
          - Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card
          - Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Pensioner Concession Card (if not
            eligible through DVA for the requested continence aids)
          - Queensland Government Seniors Card
and

B. You have had a health professional do a continence assessment to help you
manage, treat or cure your incontinence before sending an application form to
MASS.

Health professionals, such as a continence advisor, registered nurse, occupational
therapist, physiotherapist, geriatrician, paediatrician, uro-gynaecologist and urologist, can do a continence assessment and help you manage, treat or cure your incontinence.

The MASS 50 application form must be completed and sent to MASS after you have
had a continence assessment, by one of the above mentioned health professionals, and tried to improve, treat or cure your incontinence.

This is a continence aids program offered throught the Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Through the RAP program, veterans and war widows are able to access bladder weakness products if they:

• Hold a 'gold' card
• Hold a 'white' card and their incontinence is the result of a specific accepted disability
• Have been assessed by a health professional as requiring products or
• Require products as part of their overall health management

Under this program, there is a limit of 180 disposable continence products per month.

Those beneficiaries already receiving products through the department of veterans affairs will require a new presecription for continence aids every two years. 

For more information about this program, contact the DVA on 1300 550 458 or visit them on the web at www.dva.gov.au