Support at Home, explained

What Support at Home is

Support at Home is the Australian Government's program for people who need ongoing help to keep living in their own home. It commenced on 1 November 2025 under the new Aged Care Act 2024, replacing both the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme.

The structure is the same idea as before: you are assessed, you are given a funding level, and a provider draws on that funding to deliver services in your care plan. What changed is the number of levels, how the budget is released, and how much you contribute.

The eight funding levels

The old system had four package levels. Support at Home has eight, which means the funding tracks assessed need more closely. Your level is set by your assessment, and the budget is released quarterly rather than as one annual pool.

The gap between the bottom and the top is substantial: roughly seven times.

Unspent funds roll over between quarters within limits. This is a deliberate change from the old system, where large unspent package balances built up for years without being used.

Three service categories, three contribution rates

This is the part most people find counterintuitive. What you contribute depends on the type of service, not only on your income.

• Clinical supports. Nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, wound care, medication management. No contribution from anyone. The Government funds these in full.
• Independence services. Showering and dressing, mobility support, transport, social support, respite. A means tested share.
• Everyday living services. Cleaning, gardening, meal preparation, shopping assistance. The highest share, on the reasoning that most households carry these costs anyway.

Services Australia works out your rate from an income and assets assessment. Full pensioners contribute the least, part pensioners more, and self funded retirees the most.

Equipment and home modifications

Support at Home includes a separate Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme, funded outside your ongoing quarterly budget. It covers walkers, hospital beds, shower chairs, ramps, grab rails and similar, in tiers based on cost.

This matters more than it sounds. Under the old system a single expensive item could swallow months of package funding, which pushed people into choosing between equipment and care.

Short term pathways

Two shorter pathways sit alongside the ongoing levels.

• Restorative care. A short, intensive burst of allied health and nursing after a fall, illness or hospital stay, aimed at regaining function rather than propping up decline.
• End of life pathway. Additional short term funding for people in the last months of life who want to remain at home.

How long you wait

There is a national queue. After assessment you are given an approved level, then wait for a place to be released. Priority is based on assessed need, not only on how long you have been waiting, so two people approved on the same day can wait very different lengths of time.

While you wait you can usually access entry level services through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, and you can always buy services privately at full cost.

If you had a Home Care Package before November 2025

Existing recipients were transferred across automatically. Unspent package funds carried over, and there are protections so that people are not left financially worse off than they were under their previous arrangements.

Ask your provider for a written statement showing your current classification level, your quarterly budget, your carried over balance and your contribution rate for each service category. If they cannot produce that quickly, treat it as a warning sign.

Questions worth asking a provider

1. What is my quarterly budget, and how much of it goes to your care management fee?
2. What is your hourly rate for each service type, and does it change on weekends, public holidays or after hours?
3. Do you charge for worker travel time?
4. Will I see the same workers each week, or whoever is rostered?
5. What happens to unspent funds at the end of a quarter?
6. What are your exit fees and notice periods if I want to change providers?

Frequently asked