Mobile homes

From 9 November 2020, the living alone rate of payment can be paid for clients living in a self-contained mobile home.

What is a mobile home?

A mobile home can include a caravan, house bus or self-driven purpose-built mobile home. To be a self-contained mobile home for living alone rate purposes, the mobile home must:

• contain certain features and
• be reasonably habitable.

Features of a mobile home for living alone rate purposes

To be self-contained for living alone rate purposes, a mobile home must have for the exclusive use of the client adequate areas for:

• day to day living
• sleeping
• preparing and cooking food and
• must also contain:
  • a sink
  • a toilet

If the mobile home does not have showering or bathing facilities, the client must have access to these facilities e.g. they use public facilities that are readily available to them.

Mobile home must be reasonably habitable

For a mobile home to be reasonably habitable for living alone rate purposes it must have:

• a fresh water tank or tanks; and
• a waste water tank or tanks

The tanks may from time to time be connected for receiving water and removing waste water but do not require a fulltime connection. The water tanks and waste water tanks support the toilet and sink facilities.

Mobile homes must meet all requirements

A client must live in a mobile home that meets all of the requirements to be able to receive the living alone rate.

Mobile homes that do not have all of these facilities including the water and waste water tanks cannot be considered a self-contained mobile home and the living alone rate cannot be paid.

A client living alone in a self-contained mobile home can receive the living alone rate from:

• 9 November 2020 or
• the date the client started living alone in a self-contained mobile home

whichever is the later.