Home care package management fees: what's fixed, what varies and what to check

Under Support at Home, a provider can't charge you a separate package management fee, administration fee or travel fee. Those costs now sit inside the price of each service. Care management works differently again: 10% of every quarterly budget is set aside for it, the same with every provider. It isn't a fee your provider sets.

That changes what's worth checking. You can't check a care management percentage, because your statement shows care management as hours, not dollars. You can check two things that matter more: what each service costs, and whether care management actually happens every month. This guide is part of our guide to Support at Home.

Is the care management fee capped at 10%?

Yes, but not the way it's often explained. For every ongoing Support at Home budget, 10% goes to care management, which the Department describes as capped at 10%. It's set aside first and pooled across the provider's clients. It isn't charged to you as a fee, so your statement has no percentage to check.

Care management is the work of planning, coordinating and reviewing your services. You pay no contribution towards it.

Here's what the 10% means for each Support at Home classification:

[Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Guidance for setting Support at Home prices, June 2026]

What happened to package management and administration fees?

They can't be charged separately any more. Since Support at Home began on 1 November 2025, package management, administration and travel costs must be built into the price of each service. The Department's fact sheet for participants is direct: you cannot be charged separately for package management or travel.

Under Home Care Packages, these were separate lines on the statement. The fees went, but the costs didn't. They moved inside the hourly price. The percentage came down and the rate went up, which is why a budget can still run down faster than a family expects.

Prices aren't capped either. Price caps were due to start on 1 July 2026, but in May 2026 the Government paused them. Each provider still sets its own prices, based on what it costs to deliver the service.

If your statement shows an administration or travel charge as its own line, ask your provider about it. That's the Department's advice for a charge like this: speak to your provider first.

[Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Consumer protections for Support at Home prices, May 2026; New consumer protections for Support at Home services, May 2026]

What can you actually check about care management?

Whether it happens. Your monthly statement shows care management as the hours or units delivered, not as a dollar amount. Care management must be delivered at least once a month, and the Department's program manual says this should be a direct care management activity of at least 15 minutes.

So look for care management on each monthly statement. A month with none is worth a question. You can put it simply: “Our statement for August shows no care management. What care management was done for us that month?”

Care management is meant to keep the support plan working. If nobody has checked in or followed up a problem for months, raise it, whatever the statement says.

[Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Monthly statement guide for older people, October 2025; Support at Home program manual v4.4, September 2026]

How much should an hour of care cost?

The Department's national price summary gives a benchmark. For weekday services in November and December 2025, the middle price for an hour was $110 for general house cleaning and $115 for help with personal care. Care management was $120. Half of the prices charged were lower, and half were higher.

Care management hours are paid from the pooled 10%, not from the rest of your budget. For everything else, a few dollars an hour adds up. Two hours of cleaning a week at $130 instead of $110 is $40 a week, or $2,080 a year, taken from the budget. That's money that could have paid for about 19 more hours of cleaning at the median price.

The Department plans to publish a new summary every quarter, showing the median and the range of prices so families can see how their provider compares. Check its national summary of Support at Home prices for the latest figures.

Why does a higher price cost you twice?

Because your contribution is a percentage of each service's price. A dearer service uses up more of the budget, and it also raises what you pay yourself. For a full pensioner approved after 12 September 2024, everyday living services like cleaning carry a 17.5% contribution: $19.25 for an hour at $110, but $22.75 at $130.

What you pay depends on the type of service and your pension or means, and Services Australia works out your rates. Clinical care, including care management, has no contribution for anyone. From 1 October 2026, personal care such as showering and dressing has no contribution either, although it is still paid from the budget. Independence and everyday living services carry contributions that rise with your income and assets. There is also a lifetime cap on what you pay.

Our guide to Support at Home contribution rates sets out every rate by service type and pension status.

[Support at Home program manual v4.4, September 2026, s9.4]

How do you compare prices before you sign?

Use three things together: the prices each provider publishes on My Aged Care, the price list in the service agreement, and later your monthly statement. The agreement must list the price for each service. If an agreed price is higher than the provider's published price, the agreement must explain why.

1. Compare published prices. Each provider publishes the price it most often charges for each service type on My Aged Care's Find a provider, and must review its prices every 2 months. Look up two or three providers for the services you need, and compare them with the national medians above.

2. Ask how the price was set. Your provider must explain how it set its prices and what each price covers. Ask how often prices go up. The Government has encouraged providers to raise prices no more than twice a year.

3. Read the price list in the agreement. Every service should have a price. A price above the published one needs a written reason. A provider can't change a price unless the change is agreed with you and documented.

4. Check each statement against the agreement. Once services start, each line should match the agreed price. If the budget is running down faster than planned, our guide to what to do when the budget runs out walks through the likely causes.

For the wider decision, including what to ask before you sign, see our guide to choosing a Support at Home provider.

New to these terms? See the full glossary →

Are any Support at Home charges actually capped?

A few, and you can check them in dollars. For assistive technology, such as equipment, the provider's administration can't be more than 10% of the item's cost or $500, whichever is lower. For home modifications, coordination can't be more than 15% of the quoted cost or $1,500, whichever is lower.

If you self-manage, the provider's overhead on a worker or service you arrange yourself is capped at 10% of that service's cost. It's included in the final price, not added as a second fee.

And there are no entry or exit fees. A provider can't charge you to start, and you can change providers at any time at no cost.

[Support at Home program manual v4.4, September 2026, s11.5.1 and s13.4.3; Consumer protections for Support at Home prices, May 2026]

What if a charge doesn't match what you agreed?

Ask your provider first, in writing, with the statement line and the agreed price side by side. If it isn't sorted out, OPAN's Aged Care Advocacy Line gives free, independent help on 1800 700 600. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission takes complaints on 1800 951 822 and can require a provider to refund overcharges.

A short message is enough: “Our service agreement lists [service] at $[agreed price] an hour. The [month] statement shows $[charged price]. Please explain the difference or correct it.” Keep a copy.

If the provider doesn't respond, our escalation guide sets out who to contact next, in order.

[Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, New consumer protections for Support at Home services, May 2026]