Support at Home service list: what you can and cannot spend it on

What is on the Support at Home service list?

The Support at Home service list is the Department's official list of what the programme can pay for. It has 3 participant contribution categories, 14 service types and 49 individual services. The three categories are clinical supports, independence and everyday living. If a service is not on the list, Support at Home cannot fund it.

Each service type sits inside one category, and the category decides whether the older person pays a contribution. The 14 service types are:

The list is written for providers, but families can read it too. It sets out in-scope activities and examples of what is out of scope for every service type. The older person's Support at Home classification and budget decides how much can be spent. The service list decides what it can be spent on.

What can you spend Support at Home on?

You can spend Support at Home on services that are on the service list, match a need identified in the older person's aged care assessment, and are included in their support plan. All three tests must be met. A service being on the list does not mean every participant can use it.

The Department tells providers that the services they deliver must align with each participant's assessed needs in their support plan. The support plan comes out of the aged care assessment. If it does not include a service type, such as transport or home maintenance, the provider cannot simply add it.

A few other rules shape what the budget actually buys:

• 10% of each quarterly budget goes to care management, so the amount left for services is smaller than the headline figure.
• Providers do not have to offer every service type. The Department says providers can choose which services and pathways they deliver. If a provider does not offer something the support plan includes, it may be able to arrange it through a third party, or the older person may need a different provider.
• Other government programmes come first. The service list says allied health funded by another programme must be used first, and state or local government travel assistance must be used before Support at Home transport.

Families who want more control over which workers and services are used can look at self-managing Support at Home. Self-management changes who organises the services. It does not change what the service list allows.

Assistive technology and home modifications are funded separately

Equipment and home modifications are paid for through the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme, not from the quarterly budget. The Department describes it as separate funding, so the older person does not have to save up quarterly funds for a walker, a shower chair or a ramp.

Funding is approved in tiers as part of the aged care assessment. Assistive technology and home modifications each have their own tier:

Assistive technology funding is generally available for 12 months from signing the service agreement. Home modifications funding is available for 12 months, and high tier funding may be extended to 24 months if evidence of progress is provided. The Department publishes a separate AT-HM list setting out which products and modifications are covered.

The AT-HM list excludes products and equipment that are more appropriately funded by other government services, a usual household or discretionary expense, for use in a workplace, for mass transit, or for children. So a pressure care mattress may qualify. A new fridge, television or armchair for general use will not.

What does Support at Home not cover?

Support at Home does not cover anything outside the service list. The list also names specific exclusions for each service type, and the Department says these exclusions are not exhaustive. Groceries, the cost of ingredients, activity tickets, pet care, professional trades and car running costs are all named as out of scope.

There is no single stand-alone exclusions list. Exclusions sit under each service type on the service list and, for equipment, on the AT-HM list. The main ones are:

Everyday living costs are not care services, so they are not on the list at all. Rent, mortgage repayments, electricity and gas bills, general groceries and entertainment cannot be paid from a Support at Home budget. The one narrow exception the Department describes is internet and phone bills under "expenses to maintain personal affairs", where the older person is homeless or at risk of homelessness and support is needed.

Meals are the case families ask about most. Support at Home can pay for someone to prepare meals in the home, or for pre-prepared meals to be delivered. It does not pay for the food itself. The older person covers the cost of ingredients.

Grey areas and how providers decide

When a request is not clearly in or out, the provider decides by checking three things: whether it fits a service type on the list, whether it meets a need in the support plan, and whether another programme should pay instead. The Department's service list FAQs give worked examples, and they are the best guide to where lines fall.

Examples from the Department's FAQs and service list:

• Minor repairs are in, trade work is out. Replacing tap washers, replacing smoke alarm batteries and gutter cleaning are in scope. The parts needed for a repair, such as a new door handle, can be claimed under expenses for home maintenance and repairs. Professional trade work is not.
• Cleaning products can be part of the price. The FAQs say participants without suitable cleaning equipment and consumables should not be disadvantaged, and providers may factor these into their price.
• Pets are the owner's job. Emptying a cat litter tray, cleaning up after an animal and washing pet bowls are not covered, even during a cleaning visit.
• Massage must be remedial. Remedial massage needs to be prescribed by an allied health professional. Massage for relaxation is out.
• Exercise programs, but not memberships. An allied health professional can prescribe exercise, but the service list does not cover pool or gym memberships.
• Transport to usual activities is in. Trips to shopping centres and appointments are covered. Holidays are not.

Two providers can still read the same request differently. A provider must be able to justify every charge against the service list and the support plan, so some take a cautious line. Asking a provider how it decides grey areas before signing is one of the questions worth asking a home care provider.

How participant contributions differ by service type

What the older person pays depends on the service category, not on the service itself. Clinical supports have no contribution. Independence services have a moderate contribution, and everyday living services have the highest. The exact percentage depends on a means test of income and assets, with full pensioners paying the lowest rates.

The Department's participant booklet sets these rates from 1 November 2025:

Contributions are a percentage of the price of each service delivered. The government pays the rest as a subsidy. People who had a Home Care Package before the change have "no worse off" arrangements with lower rates, and there is a lifetime cap on non-clinical contributions. The lifetime caps change on 20 March and 20 September each year, and the income and asset thresholds are reviewed in March, July and September, so the dollar figures are kept on our guide to what aged care costs.

Because the category decides the cost, the same budget can stretch very differently. A plan built around nursing and physiotherapy costs the older person nothing out of pocket. A plan built around cleaning and gardening can cost a self-funded retiree most of the price of each visit.

What to do if a provider says no

If a provider refuses something, ask for the reason in writing and check it against the service list and the support plan. If the need is real but missing from the support plan, ask for a Support Plan Review. If the refusal seems wrong, complain to the provider, then to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

• Step 1: Get the reason. Ask which part of the service list or support plan the decision rests on. A provider should be able to point to it.
• Step 2: Check the service list. Look up the service type in the Department's service list and FAQs. If the item is named as out of scope, a complaint is unlikely to change the answer.
• Step 3: Check the support plan. If the service type is on the list but not in the support plan, the provider cannot deliver it. A Support Plan Review can be requested by the provider or through My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 when needs or goals have changed.
• Step 4: Complain to the provider. Every registered provider must have a complaints process. Put the complaint in writing and keep a copy.
• Step 5: Get free advocacy. The Older Persons Advocacy Network can help prepare a case or speak with the provider. Call 1800 700 600.
• Step 6: Escalate. If the provider does not resolve it, complain to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Our guide to complaints and your rights explains how.

Frequently asked