By Steve Hadfield, AgedCareActionPlan.au
Support at Home launched on 1 November 2025. It replaced the Home Care Packages program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. If someone was receiving a Home Care Package before that date, they moved across automatically.
The funding model works differently from the old system — and whether you pay anything at all now depends on which type of service you're accessing, not just how much you earn.
Support at Home is the Australian Government's main program for funding in-home aged care for older Australians who want to remain living at home. It provides a quarterly budget based on assessed care needs, which can be spent on approved services from a registered provider.
To access it, a person needs to be assessed through My Aged Care. The assessment determines which of eight funding classifications they receive — each with a different quarterly budget. The classification is based on care needs, not income.
The Home Care Package program had four levels. Support at Home has eight classifications — more granular, designed to better match funding to actual need. Several other things changed at the same time:
Quarterly budgets replaced annual budgets. Funding is now released in four instalments throughout the year. Care management fees are capped at 10% of the quarterly budget. The service list is explicit — providers must publish their prices, and from 1 July 2026 price caps apply to most services. Co-contributions are now tied to service category, not just income.
The package management fee — previously charged by many providers — was abolished when Support at Home launched.
Under Support at Home, every service is grouped into one of three categories. The category determines whether you pay anything at all, and how much.
Services in this category are fully funded by the Australian Government for all participants. You pay nothing regardless of your income or assets.
This includes nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, podiatry, psychology, social work, continence support, and nutritional management.
From 1 October 2026, personal care joins this category. See below.
You pay a contribution based on your income and assets as assessed by Services Australia. The contribution rate ranges from 5% (lower income) to 50% (higher income/assets). Until 1 October 2026, personal care sits in this category.
Also includes: transport, social support, respite.
Domestic and household tasks attract the highest co-contributions. Gardening and cleaning are specifically excluded from the price caps that apply to other services from July 2026.
Includes: domestic cleaning, gardening, meal preparation, shopping.
This changes things for many people currently on Support at Home.
From 1 October 2026, the Australian Government will fully fund personal care — showering, dressing and continence management — for eligible Support at Home participants. Zero out-of-pocket cost.
Personal care currently sits in the Independence category, meaning it draws from your quarterly budget and may attract a co-contribution depending on your income. That changes on 1 October 2026, when it moves to Clinical supports.
To access personal care at zero cost, two conditions must be met: the personal care service type must be approved in the person's support plan, and available Support at Home funding must exist. For people already receiving personal care, the reclassification applies automatically. For people who haven't had personal care formally approved in their plan, a support plan review will be needed first.
The change does not apply to personal care services delivered before 1 October 2026.
The starting point is My Aged Care — either by calling 1800 200 422 or registering online at myagedcare.gov.au. An assessor will conduct an in-home assessment using the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT). The assessment determines the classification.
After assessment, the person receives a Notice of Decision and has 28 days to challenge the classification if they believe it doesn't reflect their needs.
Once a classification is in place, the person finds a registered provider, signs a service agreement, and their quarterly budget begins. The provider claims payments from Services Australia after services are delivered.
In addition to ongoing classifications, Support at Home has three short-term pathways that can be added to a care plan:
The Restorative Care Pathway provides approximately $6,000 (up to $12,000 if extended) for intensive allied health over up to 16 weeks — for recovery from illness or injury.
The End-of-Life Pathway provides up to $25,000 over 12 weeks for people who want to remain at home through end-of-life.
The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme provides separate needs-based funding for equipment, aids and home modifications — up to $15,000 or more in some cases — which does not draw from the quarterly classification budget.
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) is continuing separately until at least 1 July 2027. People currently receiving entry-level support through CHSP — meals, transport, some domestic help — do not need to take any action at this stage. CHSP and Support at Home operate as separate programs until the transition date.
No one will pay more than $135,318 in out-of-pocket costs for non-clinical care across their lifetime — whether receiving care at home or in residential aged care. This cap applies to Independence and Everyday Living contributions. Clinical services are fully government-funded and do not count toward the cap.
Working out what Support at Home means for your specific situation?
The program rules are the same for everyone. What's different is how they apply to your classification, your income, the services you're using, and what your provider is charging. Our personalised Action Plan works through that for you.
Get your Action PlanNeed a complete personalised plan for your situation?
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.