What Is Support at Home?

How Australia’s New In-Home Aged Care Program Works

What Is Support at Home And Why Should You Apply Now?

Australia’s new Support at Home program is designed to help older Australians stay living safely and independently at home for longer.

It replaces the older Home Care Package system and brings together:

personal care
cleaning and domestic support
nursing
allied health
assistive technology
home modifications
and other in-home supports under one national program.

For many people, it can provide access to practical help that improves safety, mobility, independence and quality of life.

Who Is Eligible?

In general, Support at Home is designed for older Australians who need assistance to continue living independently at home.

Eligibility is usually based on:

age
health
mobility
cognitive changes
safety concerns
or reduced ability to manage everyday tasks independently.

You do not need to be in crisis to apply.

Many people access support for:

cleaning
showering assistance
physiotherapy
occupational therapy
meal support
transport
home modifications
or help after illness, injury or hospital stays.

Importantly, self-funded retirees can still be eligible for government-funded support.

What Is The Process?

The process generally follows four steps:

1. Contact

My Aged Care

This starts the assessment pathway.

2. Complete

An Assessment

An assessor will speak with you about:

your health
mobility
home environment
supports currently in place
and what assistance may help you remain independent.

3. Receive

Your Outcome

You may be approved for:

ongoing Support at Home services
short-term restorative care
assistive technology or home modifications
Commonwealth Home Support Programme services
or a combination of supports.

4. Choose

Providers

Once approved, you can select providers that deliver services in your local area.

Why Should You Apply Now?

This is the most important part. Many Australians wait until:

a fall
hospitalisation
burnout from a family carer
or a sudden decline in health
before entering the aged care system.

But aged care is increasingly becoming something that works best when accessed earlier.

Applying earlier can:

establish you within the system
allow preventative supports to begin sooner
improve safety at home
reduce pressure on family
and help avoid rushed decisions during a crisis.

It is also important to understand that current wait times for ongoing funding can be significant in some areas.

Starting the process earlier may help avoid longer delays later when support becomes more urgently needed.

Support At Home Is Not Just About “High Care”

One of the biggest misconceptions is that aged care support is only for people with very high needs.

In reality, many people use Support at Home for relatively modest assistance that helps them remain independent longer.

Sometimes small amounts of support:

one cleaner visit
occasional physiotherapy
or safer access around the home
can make a very large difference.

Need Help Understanding What Services Exist Locally?

Local Home Help helps families explore aged care and home support providers operating in their local area, including:

registered aged care providers
local community providers
allied health services
home modifications
and independent support services.

Understanding your options early can make the process less stressful and help families make more informed decisions about care and support at home.

If you are not sure where to begin, Liz is a good place to start.

Why Local Home Help created Liz

Most families do not start this journey as experts. They start it because something has changed.

A parent has had a fall. A hospital stay has triggered new concerns. Someone is forgetting things. The shopping is not getting done. The house is becoming harder to manage.

At that point, people do not need more jargon. They need a starting point they can trust.

Liz was created to give families that starting point - a friendly guide into a system that often feels fragmented and hard to navigate.

Let Liz guide you.

Answer a few simple questions and get a clear path forward.

Start with Liz

Takes 2–3 minutes • No sign-up required • We won’t call you

What The New Support at Home Wait Times Report Actually Reveals

Support at Home Wait Times Blow Out - But The Real Bottleneck May Be More Complex Than The Headlines The first mandatory quarterly wait-times report under the new Aged Care Act has landed, and the headlines were immediate: Older Australians are waiting close to a year for Support at Home services. That concern is real. For many families, the experience remains far too slow. But the report also reveals something important: Australia’s aged care bottleneck is not sitting in one

Liz

Why Getting Assessed for Support at Home Now Just Makes Sense

The Old Problem: ITCF Was a Real Barrier Under the old system, many people paid an Income Tested Care Fee (ITCF) of: $20–$30+ per day $140–$210+ per week And that was paid regardless of how much support you actually used. So people did one of two things: Used more services than they needed to “get value” Or avoided the system altogether and paid privately Both were completely rational. What’s Changed: Clinical Care Is Now $0 Under Support at Home, the biggest shift is simple:

Liz

Self-Funded Retirees & Aged Care: Is It Worth Applying?

Should Self-Funded Retirees Apply for Aged Care Support? Many self-funded retirees assume aged care support isn’t relevant to them. The thinking is simple: “We’ll just pay for what we need privately.” For a long time, that was a reasonable position. But things are changing, and in many cases, not getting assessed early can now be a mistake. This guide explains: Why the old thinking doesn’t always hold anymore What’s changed in the system When it does (and doesn’t) make sense

Liz