Support at Home: Funding Levels, Costs and What Changed

What Support at Home is, and who it's for

Support at Home is the Australian Government program that funds care and services so older people can keep living at home. It started on 1 November 2025, replacing both the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. If you or a parent had a Home Care Package, it has become a Support at Home budget.

To be assessed you need to be aged 65 or older, or 50 or older if you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, or 50 or older and homeless or at risk of homelessness. The assessment then looks at whether you actually need help with everyday activities. Your income and assets don't affect whether you qualify, but they do affect what you contribute.

People who need only a little help, such as a few hours of cleaning, are still generally served by the Commonwealth Home Support Programme for now. The assessor decides which program fits, so you don't need to choose before you apply.

The eight funding levels and what each is worth

After your assessment you are given a classification from 1 to 8 for ongoing services. Each comes with a quarterly budget that your provider uses to deliver the services in your care plan. You can use the full quarterly amount from the start of each quarter. The amounts below are the Department's figures from 1 October 2026; they are indexed, so check the current table on My Aged Care before relying on them.

Lower levels suit lighter needs, such as some cleaning and personal care; higher levels are for people with more complex care needs. Former Home Care Package holders were given a transitioned classification that keeps the same funding as their old package level.

Short-term help: restorative care, end of life, equipment and home changes

Alongside the eight ongoing levels, Support at Home has short-term funding you can be assessed for separately. The Restorative Care Pathway pays for allied health and nursing to help you regain strength or independence, for example after a fall: about $6,179 for up to 16 weeks, from 1 October 2026.

The End-of-Life Pathway funds extra care at home for people with an estimated three months or less to live, confirmed by a doctor or nurse practitioner: about $25,737 for up to 16 weeks, from 1 October 2026. It is meant to let people stay at home at the end of life if that is what they want, and the 2026–27 Budget extends funding for people who live beyond the initial period.

The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme pays for equipment, such as walkers or shower chairs, and changes to the home, such as rails and ramps. This funding is separate from your quarterly budget and can't be carried over. Ask your assessor or provider which funding tier applies to what you need.

What you pay: contributions by type of service

Under Support at Home you pay nothing towards clinical care, such as nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and podiatry. Since 1 October 2026 that also includes personal care, such as help with showering, dressing and non-clinical continence care, which the 2026–27 Budget moved into the free clinical category. Services delivered before that date still attract the old contribution. For other services you pay a percentage of the price, depending on the type of service and your pension or concession status, which Services Australia works out from your income and assets.

As an example, a full pensioner using a $100 cleaning service, which counts as everyday living, contributes $17.50. The same person pays $5 towards a $100 independence service, such as help getting to appointments, and nothing for help with showering. Contributions stop once you reach a lifetime cap, which is indexed each March and September; My Aged Care publishes the current amount.

If you already had a Home Care Package

If you were receiving a Home Care Package, or had been approved for one, on or before 12 September 2024, you are covered by the 'no worse off' principle. You will contribute the same as, or less than, you did under your package. If you weren't assessed as having to pay an income-tested care fee on your package, you won't be asked to pay contributions under Support at Home, and full pensioners in this group contribute nothing.

If you were approved for a package after 12 September 2024, you moved to Support at Home at the same funding level, but the new contribution rates in the table above apply to you.

In both cases, unspent package funds you held at 31 October 2025 carried over to Support at Home. If your needs have grown, ask your provider to arrange a reassessment.

How the quarterly budget works

Your provider manages your budget quarter by quarter. Up to 10% of each quarterly budget goes to care management, the work of planning and coordinating your services, and that amount is pooled across the provider's clients rather than tracked as your own spending.

If you don't use all your budget in a quarter, you can carry over up to $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget, whichever is higher, into the next quarter. Short-term AT-HM funding can't be carried over. You should get a monthly statement showing what was delivered, what it cost and what you contributed, so check it against what actually happened.

Providers set their own prices. Before you sign, ask for each provider's price list and compare the hourly prices for the services you will use most, because a lower price means more hours from the same budget.

How to apply

Apply online at myagedcare.gov.au, call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422, or see an Aged Care Specialist Officer at a Services Australia office (book on 1800 227 475). An Elder Care Support worker can help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the process. Have your Medicare card ready, and the details of anyone who helps you, such as a family member.

My Aged Care will arrange an assessment, usually in your home. Ask a family member or friend to be there, and be honest about the hardest parts of your day: assessors can only fund the help they hear about. If you disagree with your result, you can ask for it to be reviewed, and the Older Persons Advocacy Network can help you free of charge.

Questions to ask a provider before you sign

What do you charge per hour for the services I'll use most, and do prices differ on weekends? Who will be my care partner, and how often will we review my plan? How quickly can you start, and what happens if my regular worker is away? How will you show me what I've spent and contributed each month?

If you travel to see family or take a holiday, ask how your services are paused and what happens to your budget while you're away. Our guide to keeping home care running while you travel covers what to plan before you go.