What services can I actually pay for with Support at Home?

What services can I actually pay for with Support at Home?

Support at Home can pay for approved care and services that help you remain safe, independent and connected while living at home.

The program includes three main service categories:

• clinical supports

• independence services

• everyday living services.

You cannot automatically purchase every service on the list. Your Notice of Decision and support plan identify the services you have been assessed and approved to receive. Your care partner then works with you to decide which approved services to include in your care plan and individualised budget.

Clinical supports

Clinical supports address health, physical function, cognition and nutrition.

They can include:

• registered and enrolled nursing

• physiotherapy

• occupational therapy

• podiatry

• speech pathology

• dietetics

• exercise physiology

• psychology and some other therapeutic services

• nursing consumables, where approved

• prescribed nutrition

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health workers.

Examples include wound care, medication support from a nurse, falls-prevention physiotherapy, mobility assessment, swallowing support and advice about managing a health condition at home.

Clinical supports are fully government funded, so no participant contribution applies when the service is approved in the support plan and sufficient funding is available.

Personal care

Personal care can include help with:

• showering and bathing

• dressing and grooming

• toileting and continence

• eating and drinking

• mobility and transfers

• personal hygiene

• assistance with self-administered medication.

From 1 October 2026, approved personal care services are treated as clinical supports and are fully government funded, with no participant contribution.

Independence services

Independence services help you manage daily life, maintain relationships and participate in the community.

They can include:

• social support at home

• accompanied shopping and appointments

• help attending social, cultural or community activities

• transport

• respite care

• assistance using communication or digital technology

• support to manage medication

• therapeutic services that help maintain independent living.

Transport might include a worker driving you to an appointment, arranging suitable transport or accompanying you where support is required.

Respite may be provided in the home, in the community or through another approved arrangement so that an unpaid family carer can take a break.

A participant contribution may apply to independence services, based on the person’s assessed income and assets.

Everyday living services

Everyday living services help with ordinary household activities that have become difficult because of ageing, illness or reduced ability.

They can include:

• general house cleaning

• laundry and changing bed linen

• shopping assistance

• meal preparation

• delivered meals

• gardening

• minor home maintenance and repairs.

Examples might include cleaning bathrooms and floors, preparing meals, mowing a small lawn, replacing an unsafe door handle or completing minor repairs that reduce an age-related safety risk.

Everyday living services attract the highest participant contribution rates because they relate more closely to ordinary living expenses.

Meals and food

Support at Home may pay for:

• a worker helping you prepare meals

• preparation and delivery of suitable meals

• prescribed nutrition where clinically required

• assistance with eating, where approved.

It generally does not pay for ordinary groceries or the full cost of food.

For delivered meals, the participant generally pays the first 30% as the food component. Their assessed everyday-living contribution is then applied to the remaining 70% preparation and delivery component.

Assistive technology

Assistive technology is funded separately through the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme when approved during the assessment.

It may include:

• walking sticks and walking frames

• wheelchairs

• shower chairs and bath boards

• commodes and toileting equipment

• modified cutlery and food-preparation aids

• communication devices

• other products that make everyday activities safer or easier.

Funding tiers are generally:

• low: up to $500

• medium: up to $2,000

• high: up to $15,000.

Higher assistive-technology amounts may be approved in some circumstances where supporting evidence is provided.

Home modifications

Home modifications can also be funded separately where they are assessed as necessary.

They may include:

• grab rails

• bathroom handrails

• ramps

• stair lifts

• lever taps or door handles

• non-slip flooring treatments

• other safety and accessibility changes.

An occupational therapist may need to assess and prescribe the modification. The provider then coordinates quotes, installation and any required approvals.

Care management

All ongoing Support at Home participants receive care management.

Your care partner can help with:

• developing your care plan

• setting up an individualised budget

• organising services

• monitoring spending

• coordinating workers and health professionals

• reviewing whether services are meeting your goals

• responding when your needs change

• requesting a Support Plan Review where necessary.

Care management is funded through a separate portion of Support at Home funding rather than being purchased as an ordinary hourly service from the main quarterly service budget.

Short-term pathways

Support at Home can also fund services through separate short-term pathways.

These include:

Restorative Care Pathway

Time-limited support intended to improve or maintain function, confidence and independence. It may include allied health, nursing, exercise and practical support.

End-of-Life Pathway

Additional home-based care for eligible people expected to have three months or less to live and who want to remain at home.

Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme

Separate upfront funding for approved equipment and changes to the home.

What can Support at Home generally not pay for?

Support at Home is not a general income or lifestyle allowance.

It generally cannot be used for:

• rent, mortgage payments or household bills

• ordinary groceries

• restaurant meals or takeaway food

• holidays, flights or holiday accommodation

• general vehicle purchase, registration, fuel or maintenance

• entertainment tickets and club memberships

• pet food, grooming or routine pet care

• major renovations unrelated to an assessed age-related need

• repairs that are the responsibility of a landlord or insurer

• services for other people living in the home

• medical, hospital, dental or pharmaceutical costs more appropriately funded through Medicare, the PBS, private health insurance or another government program

• cash payments or unrestricted reimbursements

• services that are not connected to the person’s assessed aged care needs.

The official service list contains detailed examples of what is in and out of scope, and the exclusions are not exhaustive.

Can I choose how to spend my budget?

You have flexibility, but it is not unrestricted.

You can generally change the mix, frequency or amount of services you receive where:

• the services are on your approved service list

• they address your assessed needs and goals

• enough funding is available

• your provider can deliver or arrange them.

For example, you may decide to use less cleaning and more social support if both services are approved and the change remains consistent with your support plan.

You cannot usually redirect the budget toward a new service that was not approved. If your needs have changed, your care partner can help request a Support Plan Review.

Questions to ask your provider

Before agreeing to a service, ask:

• Is this service listed in my approved support plan?

• Which contribution category does it fall under?

• What is the full price?

• How much will I personally contribute?

• Does the price include travel, administration and subcontractor costs?

• How many hours or services can my quarterly budget afford?

• Is equipment or a professional assessment charged separately?

• Are there alternative services that may achieve the same goal at a lower cost?

• Will this purchase reduce the funding available for essential services later in the quarter?

The practical rule is:

Support at Home can pay for approved care, clinical support, personal assistance, household help, transport, respite, meals, equipment and safety modifications but only where the service is permitted, assessed as necessary and recorded in the person’s support arrangements.

What should I do next?

Check your Notice of Decision and support plan, then ask providers to explain exactly which approved services they can deliver, their prices and how much support your quarterly budget is likely to buy.

Helpful Local Home Help resources

• Start with Liz

• Understand Support at Home

• More articles about Support at Home

• Signs an older person may need help at home