VHC ↔ Lookout: Cross-reference glossary
A guide for new users: understand Veterans' Home Care (VHC) terminology and where it lives in Lookout.
How to use this guide
Veterans’ Home Care (VHC) is a program funded by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) that provides eligible veterans, war widows and widowers, and their carers with practical in-home support services to help them maintain independence, safety, and quality of life while remaining in their own homes. The program also includes access to respite services to support carers in their caring role.
VHC operates according to a defined set of terms and concepts related to eligibility, service planning, service delivery, co-payments, and claiming. This guide maps VHC terms to their corresponding terminology and functionality in Lookout, enabling users to quickly understand where information is recorded, managed, and actioned across the platform.
For ease of reference, terms have been grouped by topic, providing a structured overview of how VHC processes and requirements are represented within Lookout.
Client Network: Veterans and their key contacts
| VHC term | What it means | Lookout equivalent | Where you'll find it in Lookout |
|---|---|---|---|
| DVA client / Veteran | The veteran receiving VHC-funded in-home care and support | Member | Each Member has a profile and a Membership record |
| Care worker / Support worker | The person delivering hands-on support (e.g. domestic assistance, personal care) | Helper | Helper profile and details |
| Contracted service provider | The organisation contracted by DVA to deliver VHC services | Your organisation (the provider) | Set up as the company; holds the VHC provider reference |
| VHC assessment agency / VHC assessor | The contracted agency that assesses the veteran, approves services and issues the VHC Care Plan | Roles (general) | Profiles and roles attached to the Member |
| Carer | The (often unpaid) family member or friend who supports the veteran; VHC provides respite so they can take a break | Roles (general) / Carer indicator | A role attached to the Member; recorded on the Member's funding details |
| Nominee / Person acting on the veteran's behalf | Someone who can act or manage on the veteran's behalf (e.g. a spouse or adult child) | Authorised Representative | Profiles; role attached to the Member |
| Nominated contact (information only) | Someone who receives information only | Sharer (view-only access) | Profiles; role attached to the Member |
| War Widow/er | An eligible surviving partner who may continue certain services after the veteran dies | Roles (general) | Profiles and roles attached to the Member |
Top tip: Record your VHC provider reference against your organisation. DVA identifies your service through your provider reference, which is included in every claim you submit. Setting it up correctly in your organisation is what allows your VHC claim file to be accepted.
The client record, eligibility and service plans
| VHC term | What it means | Lookout equivalent | Where you'll find it in Lookout |
|---|---|---|---|
| VHC client record | A veteran's eligibility, approved services and status | Membership | Member dashboard; Membership record in Settings |
| Client file number | The veteran's DVA reference number used on claims | Funder / VHC client file number | Members Dashboard under Funder |
| Veteran Card (Gold Card / White Card) | The card confirming the veteran's eligibility and the conditions covered | Eligibility details on the funding details | Held on the Member's funding details |
| VHC funding | How the veteran's care is funded and administered by DVA | Funder / Funding scheme | Membership record in Settings, then Funding scheme; Member dashboard under Funder |
| VHC Care Plan | The plan issued by the assessment agency listing the approved services, the approval period, the co-payment and the delivering provider | VHC service plan | The Member's VHC service plans |
| Service plan ID | The identifier for the approved service arrangement | Plan ID | On the Member's VHC service plan |
| Period of approval | The dates the service is approved to run between | Approval start and end dates | On the Member's VHC service plan |
| Approved hours / How much you can receive | The amount of each service the veteran is approved to receive (e.g. hours per week, per year or per 12-month period) | Hours per frequency | On the Member's VHC service plan (weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly) |
| Reassessment (every 6 months) | The regular review by the assessment agency to make sure services still meet the veteran's needs | Reassessment date / Tickets | Members' dashboard under Membership; Ticket templates can be used as reminders |
| VHC service type (Domestic Assistance, Personal Care, Respite Care, Home and Garden Maintenance) | A fundable VHC service tagged with its official service type | Service / Rate with a VHC service type | Settings, then Rates; service types are recorded on the VHC service plan |
Top tip: Enter the VHC Care Plan exactly as the assessment agency issued it. The plan ID, approval dates, service type, and approved hours from the veteran's VHC Care Plan are all stored on their VHC service plan in Lookout, and they flow straight through to claiming. Matching them precisely avoids rejected claims.
Care planning and goals
| VHC term | What it means | Lookout equivalent | Where you'll find it in Lookout |
|---|---|---|---|
| VHC Care Plan / Support plan | The record of the veteran's approved supports and needs | Care Plan | The Member's Care Plan |
| Goals | What the veteran wants to achieve (e.g. maintaining independence and staying safely at home) | Goals | Within the Care Plan |
| Coordination of services | Helping the veteran arrange and manage the services in their plan | Care management activities | Member's record in Tickets, Activity, and Notebook. Surveys and Forms can be utilised. |
| Reassessment discussion | Conversations to review or update the veteran's supports | Tickets and Discussions | Tickets and Ticket discussions |
Delivering and scheduling services
| VHC term | What it means | Lookout equivalent | Where you'll find it in Lookout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service delivered | A booked instance of an approved VHC service | Visit | Rostering / the Member's Roster |
| Rostering a service (e.g. domestic assistance, personal care) | Assigning the right worker to a booking | Matching a Helper to a visit | Rostering |
| Respite service (In-home respite, Residential respite, Emergency short-term home relief) | A service that gives the carer a break | Visit (respite service type) | Rostering; recorded against the appropriate respite service type |
| Delivery date and hours | When the service was delivered and for how long | Check in / Check out | Visit details; the delivery date and hours feed straight into claiming |
| Progress note / Case note | The record made after delivering support | Check-out Note | Notes on a visit; feed into Observations and the Notebook |
| Worker screening / qualifications the provider must hold | Credentials confirming a worker's suitability | Verifications | Helper profile |
| The veteran's specific worker requirements | Credentials the veteran requires their workers to hold | Requisites | Set up win Member Matching card; Lookout warns you if a Helper doesn't meet them |
Please note: The delivery date and hours you record become your claim. VHC claims are built based on the date each service was delivered and the hours worked, taken directly from check-in and check-out times. Accurate timekeeping on every visit is what makes your claim correct.
Quality, safety and oversight
| VHC term | What it means | Lookout equivalent | Where you'll find it in Lookout |
|---|---|---|---|
| VHC Rights and Responsibilities | The rights of VHC clients, including being treated with respect, courtesy and dignity | Care Plan and provider records | Supporting records held against the Member and in the Notebook |
| Reportable incident | An incident that must be reported | Observation | Observations (raised automatically from check-out notes or manually) |
| Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission | The body overseeing quality and safety in aged care | Incident reporting | Incident records include a "reported to the Commission" date and a link to the relevant guidelines |
Co-payments and claiming
| VHC term | What it means | Lookout equivalent | Where you'll find it in Lookout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Co-payment | The small contribution the veteran pays towards the cost of their services ($5 per hour, with weekly and annual caps) | Co-payment amount | Recorded on the Member's VHC service plan and applied to visits |
| Co-payment cap | The maximum a veteran can be charged in a given period (e.g. per week or per 12-month period) | Weekly co-payment cap | On the Member's VHC service plan; Lookout applies the cap automatically and rolls unused amounts to the next visit in the week |
| Co-payment waiver | An arrangement where a veteran who can't afford the co-payment has it waived | Co-payment settings on the service plan | Managed on the Member's VHC service plan |
| Bulk claim / Claim file | The file used to claim payment from DVA for services delivered | VHC claim export | Finance; generates the VHC bulk claim file using service plans and delivered visits |
| Service period code | The code describing how often the service is delivered (weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly) | Frequency | On the Member's VHC service plan; included in the claim file |
| Provider reference | The provider's identifier included on each claim | Provider reference | Held against your organisation; written into each claim line |
| Co-payment report | A summary of the co-payments due from veterans | VHC co-payment report | Finance |
| Service plans report | A summary of veterans' approved service plans | VHC service plans report | Finance |
| Statements / Invoices | Records of charges and co-payments sent to the veteran | Billing Recipient | Role attached to the Member; statements viewable in-app |