Need care at home? We look at where to find it and what it costs

Services may include help with personal care, such as showering and support services for cleaning or transport. As well as clinical or nursing care and equipment, such as walkers for mobility.

My Aged Care is the gateway to all government-subsidised aged care services and information, including in-home care.

It can be accessed either online (www.myagedcare.gov.au) or by phone (1800 200 422).

Eight package levels

There are eight levels of Support at Home packages, replacing the previous four levels of Home Care Package (HCP).

These packages focus on:

• Everyday living supports such as domestic assistance, gardening, home maintenance and repairs, meal delivery and preparation
• Independence support services such as personal care, social support, community respite care, transport, therapeutic services and remedial massage
• Clinical care such as nursing care
• Allied health services such as physiotherapy.

Assistive technology and home modifications are also covered under Support at Home, but are funded separately.

The level of package someone is approved for and allocated depends on the outcome of an aged care assessment.

A Support at Home package requires the recipient to select an approved provider, which in turn helps to deliver the services.

The chosen provider hosts the package and, for a fee (which comes out of the package), will manage it for you. The provider works with you to select the services and carers based on what you need to stay in your own home.

A quarterly budget prepared by the provider allows you to see how much funding is available and where it’s being spent. This can help determine how to tailor the services to meet your own needs.

At the end of each quarter, any unspent funds, less $100 or 10% of the quarterly budget (whichever is greater), are returned to the government.

Package budgets

From 1 November, when Support at Home starts, HCP care recipients will move to a transitional Support at Home classification and continue to receive the same funding level as they do with their HCP.

HCP classification	Support at Home classification	Support at Home quarterly budget	Support at Home annual amount
HCP Level 1	Transitioned HCP Level 1	$2,746.63	$10,986.50
HCP Level 2	Transitioned HCP Level 2	$4,829.86	$19,319.45
HCP Level 3	Transitioned HCP Level 3	$10,513.83	$42,055.30
HCP Level 4	Transitioned HCP Level 4	$15,939.55	$63,758.20

Under Support at Home there will be eight levels of ongoing support, each with its own budget.

Level	Quarterly budget	Annual budget
1	$2,750	$11,000
2	$4,000	$16,000
3	$5,500	$22,000
4	$7,500	$30,000
5	$10,000	$40,000
6	$12,000	$48,000
7	$14,500	$58,000
8	$19,500	$78,000

In addition to the eight levels, there will be three special funding areas:

• Restorative care: $6,000 over 12 weeks
• End of life care: $25,000 over 12 weeks
• Assistive Technology and Home Modifications Scheme: assessed as low, medium or high levels of funding.

Package delivery isn’t entirely free

A significant change in the 1 November 2025 aged care reforms is the way Support at Home recipients will pay.

Under the HCP system, there was an income-tested care fee, which, if relevant, was charged daily whether services were used or not.

With Support at Home, recipients contribute towards the services they use.

Everyone receiving services under Support at Home will be asked to contribute depending on whether they are full pensioners, part pensioners or self-funded retirees.

Contribution rates will also vary by the amount and type of service received. Providers set the cost of their services.

An income and asset assessment, like the Age Pension means tests, will be used to determine the contribution rate.

Those on the Age Pension and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders will pay lower contributions than self-funded retirees.

The amount you will pay will be set as a percentage of the price of each service you have received. This means that when you pay a contribution, the government will pay the remainder to the provider.

No contribution will be required for clinical care services, such as nursing and physiotherapy. The government will pay for all clinical care costs.

Contributions for services that support your independence, such as personal care, will be moderate. Everyday living services, such as cleaning and gardening, will attract the highest contribution rates.

All contributions count towards a lifetime cap of $130,000 (indexed).

Standard participant contribution rates from 1 November 2025

Age pension status	Clinical care	Independence	Everyday living
Full pensioner	0%	5%	17.5%
Part pensioner and eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health card	0%	5–50% depending on income and assets	17.5–80% depending on income and assets
Self-funded retiree	0%	50%	80%

Support at home providers can charge 10% of the budget each quarter as a case management fee.

Funding can take time

Demand for Support at Home funding is as high as ever, with many people who have been approved still waiting up to 12 months for funding.

This raises the question of what to do about getting help in the interim. And even if you do get a package, what if it isn’t sufficient to deliver the level of care you need to remain at home?

Finding other help

Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) is a messy and not entirely reliable source of funding, but it may be better than nothing.

Services are delivered at a highly subsidised rate on an ad-hoc basis by a range of providers. While it can be cheaper to use this option, it doesn’t always have the security of a Support at Home package.

For many people, the year-long wait for a package or finding sufficient help means using their own income and assets to pay privately for the care they need, which can be very expensive. Estimates from one nursing agency show full-time care at home can cost about $250,000 a year, although the overall figure may vary depending on whether the care workers are enrolled nurses or care support and whether they’re required 24/7.

Private care rates vary

Rates for private care through a reputable provider vary between $65 and $90 per hour, and more in the evenings and on weekends. Care that requires a registered nurse is more expensive. A growing alternative is to recruit carers directly, such as through online platforms like mable.com.au or careseekers.com.au. 

Those needing care can choose and self-schedule workers based on their needs and preferences, including the timing of home visits. You may also be able to negotiate the rate of pay, which generally starts well below those charged by an approved provider or agency.

While employing someone directly may work out cheaper than going to a provider, it can also be more work for the family. This is especially so where rosters or replacing a worker who calls in sick come into play.

If help is needed and you can afford it, then the surest way of remaining in your own home is to pay privately for the services you need until the package is allocated.

It will be a bit like a bonus when the package eventually does come through and you get more hours that you don’t have to pay for.

How do I arrange Support at Home?

If you decide that Support at Home is the way to go, then to be eligible you must:

• Be over 65 years of age
• Still live in your own home
• Need support to continue living independently.

You need to satisfy some eligibility criteria in terms of the support needed and, as funding is means-tested, you will need to do your sums to make sure the contribution you are making towards the services is value for money.

Applying for a Home Care Package

A phone call to My Aged Care (1800 200 422) is the first step to checking your eligibility. They will ask a few questions about you, your health and your support.

If you are eligible for an aged care assessment, a health professional will arrange a time to come to your home. This generally takes about 90 minutes and covers questions about your lifestyle, any support you have or may need, health issues, your home, your family and your memory.

The assessor will develop a support plan to help you stay independent at home and recommend approval for Support at Home, choosing a level they think is appropriate. Your name is then placed on a national waitlist, which is prioritised according to your care needs. The current wait is about 6–12 months.

Commonwealth Home Support Program

If you only require some basic services to remain at home, or you are waiting for a Home Care Package to come through, you should be eligible for subsidised services through CHSP.

Currently, an assessor will visit you (or phone) to discuss your care needs.

They allocate referral codes specific to the services required, which are then given to approved providers in your area who have the capacity to deliver the services.

The most common uses of CHSP funding are for cleaners (the cost might be $10–15 an hour) or transport to and from appointments or social events ($15 round trip).

Receiving Support at Home

Getting a letter in the mail to say your funding for Support at Home has been assigned can be a bittersweet moment.

On the one hand, it can feel a bit like a lotto win (not that I’ve ever won). On the other hand, it may not be quite what you expected.

It may have been 12–18 months since you got the letter saying you had been approved for Support at Home and three months since being told it is on its way.

Taking up the package

Just because you are offered a package doesn’t mean you have to take it. It often comes down to the package level, what the means-tested fee might be, and what type of help you need now and in the future. You have 28 days to accept the package and find a provider (or ask for an extension).

If you do turn down a package that has been allocated, you don’t lose the ability to ask for it later, but you will be placed back in the national queue, where the allocation is based on time in the queue and care needs.

If you do decide to take up Support at Home, then it’s up to you to choose an accredited provider who will administer the package. The same provider may or may not deliver the services you need. Some providers just administer Support at Home packages and broker service providers, while others do the lot.

The cost of services provided is one factor in choosing a provider, along with whether they can provide the services you need, when you need them and with carers or other staff that you like.

You can find a provider on the government’s My Aged Care website.