By Steve Hadfield, AgedCareActionPlan.au · Last updated: 27 May 2026
The most common reason families don't switch providers isn't that the process is hard. It's that they don't know how straightforward it is.
They assume their parent will lose their funding. They assume they'll need a new ACAT assessment. They assume there's a lock-in period, or exit fees, or that the bureaucracy will take months. None of these are true under Support at Home.
The funding stays with your parent, not the provider. The switch typically takes two to four weeks. And if services genuinely aren't being delivered — the same worker never shows up twice, calls go unreturned, the care plan hasn't been reviewed in months — waiting is costing your parent real care time, not protecting anything.
Your parent's funding doesn't reset. Their Support at Home classification, quarterly budget, and approved supports all carry to the new provider. No new ACAT assessment is required. The 10% care management fee continues at the same rate.
Unspent funds — any money left in your parent's quarterly budget that the current provider hasn't spent — transfer to the new provider through Services Australia. They don't disappear.
Do not give notice to your current provider until your new provider has confirmed they can take your parent on, and confirmed the exact start date.
Here's why this matters: if your service agreement requires 14 days' notice and your new provider can't start for five weeks, giving notice immediately leaves a three-week window with no services running. That gap is avoidable — but only if you have the start date confirmed before you give notice.
Where to find a new provider: Search My Aged Care's provider finder at myagedcare.gov.au — enter your parent's postcode and filter by service type. For a full guide on what to look for and what questions to ask, see How to Choose a Home Care Provider.
When you contact a shortlisted provider, ask:
A provider who answers these questions clearly and promptly is demonstrating something real about how they'll operate once services begin. Evasiveness here is itself useful information.
Once your new provider confirms a start date, that becomes your transition date. Your current provider's last day of service should be the same day as — or the day before — your new provider's first day. Any gap between the two is where service interruptions happen.
The full switch typically takes two to four weeks from the moment you first contact a new provider to the first service delivery.
Check your service agreement for the required notice period. Most providers ask for 14 days. Some may ask for more.
If you can't find your service agreement: Ask your current provider to send you a copy. They are obligated to provide it. It will also specify what happens to any outstanding services during the notice period — your provider must continue delivering all services until your exit date.
Give notice in writing — email is fine. You are not required to give a reason. Keep it brief and factual.
If your parent goes without Support at Home services for four consecutive quarters — roughly a full year — their ongoing funding can be withdrawn. Don't give notice until the new provider's start date is confirmed, and once it is, don't delay.
You do not need to call My Aged Care or Services Australia. Your new provider registers as your parent's provider through the Aged Care Provider Portal and notifies Services Australia within 28 days of services starting. The outgoing provider notifies Services Australia that services have ended. The funding transfer happens administratively.
You should not need to re-register or re-apply for anything.
If services have started but the funding transfer appears stalled three or more weeks after your new provider began, call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask them to verify the provider registration status.
Your new provider is entitled to request your parent's care notes and records from the outgoing provider. The outgoing provider must supply them within 28 days of the request. Ask your new provider to submit this request immediately — having your parent's care history from day one means they're not starting blind.
Care notes can take up to 28 days to transfer, which means day one often happens before the records arrive. Write a one-page summary of your parent's key needs, daily routine, preferences, medications, and any important health information — and give it to the new provider before or at the first service. This prevents the new worker arriving with no context, which is one of the most common sources of distress in a provider transition.
Before your transition date, confirm with your new provider:
A good provider initiates this contact. If they don't by two days before the transition date, you initiate it. Finding out on day one that nothing is booked is avoidable.
Under Support at Home, providers cannot charge exit fees, administration fees for leaving, or any fee beyond the 10% care management fee already being deducted from your quarterly budget.
Your outgoing provider can only claim for services actually delivered up to your exit date. If you receive a final invoice that includes charges beyond that — contact OPAN (Older Persons Advocacy Network) on 1800 700 600 or visit opan.org.au. OPAN provides free, independent advocacy and can intervene on your behalf.
For a full picture of what providers can and cannot charge under Support at Home, see Support at Home vs Home Care Packages — What Changed.
Most switches proceed without friction. Some don't. If your provider is delaying responses, pressuring your parent to stay, or moving slowly on the administrative handover — you are not required to negotiate your way out.
For situations where a provider isn't delivering what they're supposed to — before the point of switching — see the escalation guide, which covers written complaints, OPAN advocacy, and ACQSC referral.
Switching can feel disruptive — particularly if your parent has built a relationship with their current care worker over months or years. That's a real loss, even when the change is the right decision.
The relationship was with the worker, not the provider. Some workers move between providers, and it's worth asking your parent's preferred worker whether they'd consider following — but that's a conversation, not an expectation.
What's worth holding onto is not a provider that isn't working — it's the standard of consistent, reliable, familiar care that a better provider can deliver.
Switching providers isn't the only option. Under Support at Home, your parent can also choose to self-manage — selecting their own care workers while the provider handles administration and compliance. For more on how that works and when it makes sense, see Self-Managing Your Support at Home Package: The Honest Guide.
Not sure whether switching is the right move, or what your parent is actually entitled to? Answer a few questions and get a step-by-step plan built around their situation.
Yes. You have the right to switch at any time. There is no lock-in period under Support at Home.
No. Support at Home funding stays with the participant, not the provider. Unspent quarterly budget funds transfer to the new provider through Services Australia.
No. Your new provider handles all notifications to Services Australia. You don't need to call My Aged Care or re-register.
No. Exit fees are not permitted under Support at Home. If your provider attempts to charge one, contact OPAN on 1800 700 600.
No. Switching providers does not trigger a new aged care assessment.
Typically two to four weeks from first contact with a new provider to the first service delivery. The main variables are the notice period in your service agreement and how quickly your new provider can confirm a start date.
Yes. There is no limit on how many times you can switch Support at Home providers. Each switch follows the same process.
The switch doesn't interrupt the review process. Your new provider picks up the review from where the outgoing provider left it.
Services continue as normal with your current provider until your agreed exit date. Your provider is required to deliver all services during the notice period.
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Start Navigator — $29/month →This guide is for information only — not legal, medical, or financial advice. Verified against the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025. Check myagedcare.gov.au for current rates and rules.