Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities
Description
The Community Care Fund launched the “Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities” in October 2016 with the aim of providing carers of persons with disabilities from low-income families with a living allowance to help supplement their living expenses so that persons with disabilities in need of long-term care may, with the help of their carers, receive proper care and remain living in the community. The aforementioned Pilot Scheme is incorporated into the Government’s regular assistance programme and renamed as the “Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities” (the Allowance Scheme) with effect from October 2023, for providing continuous assistance to the needy and eligible carers.
Eligibility Criteria
An applicant, who is the carer providing care for the person(s) with disabilities, must meet ALL of the following criteria:
- the person(s) with disabilities being taken care of must be living in Hong Kong and on the waiting lists for any specified rehabilitation services (Note 1) subsidised by SWD, for special school with boarding placement under the Education Bureau (EDB) or for infirmary service of the Hospital Authority (HA) currently;
- the person(s) with disabilities being taken care of must be living in the community without using any residential care service (RCS)/boarding service of special school/infirmary service (Note 2) during the application period and while receiving the allowance;
- the carer must be capable of taking up the care-giving role (Note 3) and is providing at least 80 hours of care-giving work (Note 4) per month; or not less than a total of 120 hours per month for taking care of more than one person with disabilities who meets the above-mentioned criteria at the same time;
- the carer must be a Hong Kong resident living in Hong Kong and not engaged in any form of employment relationship with the person(s) with disabilities being taken care of;
- the carer must not be a recipient of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Old Age Living Allowance or allowance in respect of taking care the same person with disabilities under the “Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families” of SWD; and
- the carer is from a low income family, i.e. the monthly household income, excluding assets of the carer and the household members residing with him/her (Note 5), does not exceed the specified income limit applicable to the corresponding household size. (Please refer to Brief for details).
Note 1: Specified rehabilitation services refer to subsidised residential care services (RCS)/day rehabilitation training services with waiting lists managed by the CRSRehab of SWD, including hostels for severely physically handicapped persons, hostels for severely mentally handicapped persons, hostels for moderately mentally handicapped persons, care-and-attention (C&A) homes for severely disabled persons, C&A homes for the aged blind, long-stay care homes, residential special child care centres, day activity centres, sheltered workshops and special child care centres.
Note 2: The persons with disabilities being taken care of who are receiving day rehabilitation training service while on the waiting lists for specified subsidised RCS are also eligible for the Allowance Scheme.
Note 2: The persons with disabilities being taken care of who are receiving day rehabilitation training service while on the waiting lists for specified subsidised RCS are also eligible for the Allowance Scheme.
Note 3: Any person who is under the age of 15, or has been assessed under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for RCS and/or CCS, or is being on the CWL for subsidised long-term care services, or is on the waiting lists for any specified rehabilitation services subsidised by SWD, for special school with boarding placement under EDB or for infirmary services of HA, or is a recipient of DA, will not be deemed to be a fit and capable carer and therefore will not be eligible for the carer allowance of the Allowance Scheme.
Note 4: The care provided by the carer to the person(s) with disabilities refers to independent activities of daily living, such as meal preparation, home making, medication management, purchase of daily necessities, escort, etc. and/or personal care and assistance in activities of daily living required by the person with disabilities concerned, such as moving, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene, etc. For some carers taking care of the persons with disabilities with behavioral or emotional problems, the time needed to manage the persons with disabilities before the above daily living care can be provided may be counted as care-giving hours. In addition, the number of hours for the carer to attend training can also be counted as care-giving hours.
Note 4: The care provided by the carer to the person(s) with disabilities refers to independent activities of daily living, such as meal preparation, home making, medication management, purchase of daily necessities, escort, etc. and/or personal care and assistance in activities of daily living required by the person with disabilities concerned, such as moving, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene, etc. For some carers taking care of the persons with disabilities with behavioral or emotional problems, the time needed to manage the persons with disabilities before the above daily living care can be provided may be counted as care-giving hours. In addition, the number of hours for the carer to attend training can also be counted as care-giving hours.
Note 5: Household members generally refer to people residing with the applicant in Hong Kong and have close economic ties with him/her (but excluding economic ties arising from employment relationship). This includes household members and those who share or are obliged to share the provisions for a living. Such member(s) and/or person(s) must be Hong Kong resident(s). The monthly household income refers to the average monthly income for the three months prior to the month when the application is submitted, any income received out of those three months can be excluded. For income not paid on a monthly basis, e.g. double pay, bonuses, contract gratuity, dividends, etc, it should be apportioned over the period concerned for calculation. Income includes the following items:
1. Employment earnings: salary, double pay, leave pay, work allowance, bonuses, prize, commission, tips, contract gratuity, income from rendering services, business profits, etc.;
2. Other income: contributions from children, financial assistance from relatives/friends, alimony, monthly pension, widow’s and orphans’ payment or pensions, investment profits (including income from trust fund, bonds and annuity scheme(s) etc.), interest income from fixed deposits, dividends, rental income, etc.;
2. Other income: contributions from children, financial assistance from relatives/friends, alimony, monthly pension, widow’s and orphans’ payment or pensions, investment profits (including income from trust fund, bonds and annuity scheme(s) etc.), interest income from fixed deposits, dividends, rental income, etc.;
but excludes monthly payments received under the Reverse Mortgage Programme (RMP) (only applicable to the RMP where the property as collateral is an owner-occupied property) and the Policy Reverse Mortgage Programme, employee mandatory contribution to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme (i.e. the 5% mandatory contribution made by employee to an MPF scheme), financial assistance provided by the Government, charitable donations, subsidies from assistance programmes under CCF, etc.
Application Procedures
- Starting from October 2023, SWD will issue letters to the persons with disabilities who are on the waiting lists for specified subsidised RCS/day rehabilitation training services managed by the Central Referral System for Rehabilitation Services (CRSRehab) of SWD, or on the waiting lists for special school with boarding placement under EDB or infirmary service of HA currently, to invite their carers to participate in the Allowance Scheme. An application form will be enclosed in the invitation letter.
- For each person with disabilities invited to participate in the Allowance Scheme, only one carer can apply for and receive the allowance. If a person with disabilities has more than one carer, the carers must decide among themselves who should apply for and receive the allowance.
- Each applicant is required to submit the completed application form together with all necessary documents listed below by post (the postmark date will be regarded as submission date) or by hand to Carer Allowances and Subsidies Team (CAST) of SWD:
- copies of identification documents of the carer and his/her household members residing with him/her in Hong Kong; and
- a copy/copies of the identity document of the person(s) with disabilities being taken care of;
- the completed original copy of “Authority for Payment to a Bank” (GF 179A) signed by the carer; and
- a copy of the first page of bank book or bank statement of the carer.
Enquiries
Carer Allowances and Subsidies Team, SWD
Address: Room 404, 4/F, Lady Trench Training Centre, 44 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Telephone: 3468 5636
Fax: 3468 5648
Email: castenq@swd.gov.hk
Time: Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm, excluding Public Holidays
Download
| Item / Name | Download File |
|---|---|
| Brief on "Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities" |