What is Support at Home, and how does it change the current home care system?
Support at Home is the Australian Government's current coordinated in-home aged-care program. It replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025, while CHSP continues separately for entry-level support.
Key points
- Support at Home began on 1 November 2025.
- CHSP continues as the entry-level program.
- Transition protections may apply to people approved for HCP by 12 September 2024.
Explore only what you need
Start with the sections that feel useful now. You can come back to the others later.
01Guide sectionWhat is Support at Home, and how does it change the previous home care system?
Support at Home is the Australian Government program that funds care and services to help older people remain living safely and independently at home.
It began on 1 November 2025, replacing:
the Home Care Packages Program
the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme.
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme, or CHSP, continues to operate separately for entry-level support and is not expected to transition into Support at Home before 1 July 2027.
Support at Home can fund approved services such as:
nursing
physiotherapy and other allied health
personal care
domestic assistance
meal preparation
transport
social support
respite
assistive technology
home modifications.
The services you can use depend on what is identified during your aged care assessment and recorded in your support plan.
02Guide sectionWhat happened to Home Care Package levels?
The former Home Care Packages Program had four package levels.
Support at Home has eight ongoing funding classifications, allowing funding to be more closely matched to a person’s assessed needs.
The classification determines the size of the person’s ongoing budget. A higher classification provides more funding for people with greater or more complex support needs.
People who were already receiving a Home Care Package generally moved into a transitioned Support at Home classification with an equivalent level of funding.
People who had been approved for a Home Care Package but were still waiting for one generally moved into the Support at Home priority system.
03Guide sectionFunding is provided quarterly
Under Support at Home, ongoing funding is divided into four quarterly budgets covering three months each.
Your provider works with you to develop:
a care plan
a care and services schedule
an individualised budget showing how the quarterly funding will be used.
Your provider must also give you regular statements showing services delivered, prices charged, your contributions and the amount of funding remaining.
This is different from the former system, where Home Care Package funds could sometimes build up over a long period.
Under Support at Home, unused quarterly funding can still carry forward, but the rollover is limited to whichever is higher:
$1,000
10% of the quarterly budget.
People who transferred from a Home Care Package may also retain eligible unspent Home Care Package funds in a separate balance.
04Guide sectionContributions depend on the service used
Under the former Home Care Packages system, some people paid an income-tested care fee and providers could charge a basic daily fee.
Under Support at Home, contributions are generally calculated as a percentage of the actual price of each service.
Services are divided into three contribution categories:
Clinical supports
These include services such as nursing and physiotherapy. They are fully government funded, so the participant pays no contribution when the service is approved in their support plan.
Independence services
These include services such as transport, respite and social support. A moderate participant contribution may apply.
Everyday living services
These include domestic assistance, gardening and meal preparation. These attract the highest participant contribution rates.
The percentage a person pays depends on their pension status, income and assets. Services Australia determines the contribution rates.
People who were receiving or approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024 may be protected by no-worse-off arrangements and may pay less than the standard Support at Home rates-or no contribution at all.
05Practical actionCare management is built into the budget
All participants receiving ongoing Support at Home services receive care management.
Ten per cent of each quarterly budget is allocated to the provider for care management. This supports activities such as:
developing and reviewing the care plan
coordinating services
monitoring the budget
responding when needs change
communicating with workers and health professionals
helping request a Support Plan Review or reassessment.
The provider should allocate a care partner who acts as the participant’s main contact.
06Guide sectionEquipment and home modifications have separate funding
Under Home Care Packages, equipment and home modifications were generally paid from the same package budget used for ordinary care services.
Support at Home introduced a separate Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme.
This can provide approved funding for items such as:
walking frames
wheelchairs
shower chairs
communication aids
grab rails
ramps
bathroom safety modifications.
Keeping this funding separate means a person should not need to substantially reduce regular services simply to pay for an approved piece of equipment or home modification.
07Guide sectionThere are separate short-term pathways
Support at Home also includes dedicated pathways for particular circumstances.
Restorative Care Pathway
Provides time-limited support intended to improve or maintain strength, mobility, confidence and independence.
End-of-Life Pathway
Provides additional home-based support for eligible people approaching the end of life who wish to remain at home.
Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme
Provides separate funding for approved equipment and modifications.
These pathways sit alongside ongoing Support at Home funding and have their own budgets and time limits.
08Guide sectionProviders still set their own prices
Support at Home does not currently have one fixed national price for each service.
Providers set their own prices, but they must publish their full price lists and clearly explain what is included.
Consumers should compare:
hourly service prices
minimum visit times
travel charges
weekend and public holiday rates
cancellation rules
subcontractor costs
worker availability
continuity of workers.
The government also publishes national price summaries showing median prices and common price ranges to help consumers compare providers.
09Guide sectionDoes Support at Home provide more choice?
In principle, yes but the choice is structured.
You can work with your provider to choose the mix and frequency of services, provided that:
the service was approved in your assessment
it addresses your assessed needs and goals
enough budget is available
the provider can arrange it.
Support at Home is not an unrestricted personal budget. Funding cannot normally be redirected to services or purchases outside the approved service list.
10Guide sectionPractical example
Under the former Home Care Packages system, a person might have received a Level 3 package covering personal care, cleaning, physiotherapy and equipment from one annual funding pool.
Under Support at Home, a newly assessed person might instead:
receive one of eight ongoing funding classifications
receive the budget in quarterly amounts
have 10% allocated to care management
pay no contribution for approved physiotherapy
pay an assessed contribution towards cleaning
receive separate funding for an approved walking frame or bathroom modification.
The care remains delivered at home, but the funding, contribution and service structures are more clearly separated.
11Guide sectionWhat has not changed?
The central purpose remains the same: helping older people remain safely and independently at home.
People still:
apply through My Aged Care
complete an aged care assessment
receive an approval and support plan
choose a registered provider
agree on services and prices
have the right to change provider.
The clearest summary is:
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages with eight funding classifications, quarterly budgets, service-based contributions, dedicated short-term pathways and separate funding for equipment and home modifications. The aim is to match funding more closely to assessed needs while making service prices and participant contributions clearer.
12Guide sectionWhat should I do next?
Check whether you are under a transitioned HCP arrangement or the standard Support at Home rules, then compare providers using your approved services, preferences and likely contributions.
13Guide sectionHelpful Local Home Help resources
Want to apply this answer to your situation?
Liz already knows which guidance page you are reading, so you can ask a follow-up without starting the topic again.