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A full pensioner generally pays 5% toward independence services and 17.5% toward everyday living services, while clinical supports are free. Some transitioned Home Care Package recipients pay less or nothing-under the no worse off principle, and approved personal care will become free for everyone from 1 October 2026.
Nursing, approved allied health and other clinical supports have no participant contribution. Care management is also contribution free. Personal care will become contribution-free from 1 October 2026. These services may still use your available government-funded budget, so “free” means no out-of-pocket contribution not unlimited care at no cost to your funding.
Approved personal care services will have no participant contribution from 1 October 2026.
The provider’s agreed service price is multiplied by the contribution percentage set by Services Australia. You pay that amount, while the government-funded budget pays the remainder. Clinical supports remain contribution-free.
No. Support at Home contributions are linked to services actually delivered.
Providers charge different rates because their labour, travel, supervision and operating costs differ. Use the government’s national median prices as a comparison point, but also examine what the rate includes, the quality and reliability of the service, and how many hours your budget will actually purchase.
The planned introduction of broad price caps was paused in May 2026.
Compare the price with government benchmarks and other providers, confirm exactly what is included, calculate how many service hours your budget will buy and ask the provider to justify any significant difference. A reasonable price should be transparent, explainable and proportionate to the service being delivered.
A provider may factor worker travel into its agreed service price and may charge different unit prices in different service areas. It should not separately bill travel time, kilometres or a travel surcharge on top of that price. Participant transport is a separate service and may be charged on an agreed per trip basis.
A provider cannot normally add a separate administration fee to ordinary Support at Home services. A capped overhead of up to 10% may apply when a self-managing participant directly sources a third-party worker, although it must be included in the final service price. Separate capped charges are also permitted for AT-HM administration and home-modification coordination.
Your classification does not guarantee a set number of hours. After 10% is allocated to care management, divide the remaining funding by the government-funded portion of each provider’s service price. Provider rates, participant contributions and minimum visit times determine how much actual support the budget provides.
Different prices, booking minimums, travel arrangements and service models can produce different amounts of direct care from the same budget.
The cheapest provider is only the best value when it can reliably deliver suitable, safe care at the times required. Compare the total cost per visit, minimum service times, worker continuity, availability and quality not just the advertised hourly rate.
