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Categories of Support Services
Support at Home services are designed with a “wellness approach”. This means assessors will create a Support Plan that aims to deliver support that builds on your strengths, capabilities, and goals. The plan will encourage you to sustain your independence, by equipping you with skills and knowledge to avoid risks, prevent injuries and manage your tasks of daily living with assistance or supervision for your safety.
There are three categories of service types under Support at Home.
CLINICAL
Specialised services to help older people maintain or regain functional and/or cognitive capabilities.
These services must be performed by trained, qualified or accredited healthcare professionals.
- Nursing
- Allied Health
- Nutrition
- Care Management
Community based nursing care covers:
- Assessing, treating and monitoring clinical conditions
- Administration of medications
- Wound care, clinical continence management and skin integrity
- Health and clinical education
- Links to specialist services
Allied health and other therapeutic services includes:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health workers
- Allied health therapy assistant
- Counsellor or psychotherapist
- Dietitian or nutritionist
- Exercise physiologist
- Music therapist
- Occupational therapist
- Physiotherapist
- Podiatrist
- Psychologist
- Social worker
- Speech pathologist
Prescribed nutrition
Supplementary and enteral oral dietary products and aids to address functional decline or impairment.
INDEPENDENCE
These services help older people to manage activities of daily living, particularly with skills or capabilities that can be lost or diminished through age.
- Personal care
- Social support & community engagement
- Therapeutic services
- Respite
- Transport
- Home modifications & Assistive Technology
Personal care is assistance with self-care and activities of daily living, including:
- Help with grooming, personal hygiene, mobility and eating
- Support to take medication
- Continence management
Social Support and Community Engagement gives you access to services that support social connection and participation in community life.
This might be participating in religious or social groups, cultural activities or attending appointments. The support includes:
- Assistance to maintain personal affairs
- Expenses to maintain personal affairs
- Digital education and support
- Referrals and links to social, religious and special interest groups
- Help to access translating and interpreting services.
- Therapeutic services for independent living
Allied health treatment programs to support social mental and physical wellbeing, such as:
- Acupuncturist
- Chiropractor
- Diversional therapist
- Remedial masseuse
- Art therapist
- Osteopath
Other:
- Respite care
- Direct transport – car and driver provided
- Indirect transport – taxi or rideshare service vouchers
EVERYDAY LIVING
These services provide support and convenience for older people to keep their home in a safe, liveable state and manage meal preparation.
- Domestic Assistance
- Home Maintenance and Repairs
- Meal preparation and delivery
Domestic assistance is support and assistance with your shopping and general house cleaning. The services include:
- Essential light cleaning, e.g. mopping, vacuuming, washing dishes
- Laundry and ironing clothing
- Accompanied and unaccompanied shopping
Home maintenance and repairs includes:
- Essential light gardening, e.g. lawn mowing, pruning and yard clearance for safe access
- Assistance with home maintenance and repairs to maintain safe living conditions
Meals includes:
- Someone to help you with meal preparation
- Delivery of pre-prepared meals from an approved provider
What will it cost?
All older people receiving services in the Independence and Everyday Living categories will have to make a contribution towards the services they receive. How much you pay is determined by an income and assets means-test assessed by Services Australia, and the type of services provided. The contributions you are required to make are a percentage of the hourly rate of each service.
This means a participant will pay an amount set by their percentage contribution rate, and the government will pay the remainder of the price as a subsidy to the provider who organises your services. The range for the percentage in each category is indicated below.
| INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL STATUS | CLINICAL CARE | INDEPENDENCE | EVERYDAY LIVING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full pensioner | 0% | 5% | 17.5% |
| Part pensioner and Commonwealth Seniors health care eligible | 0% | 5 - 50% | 17.5 - 80% |
| Self-funded retiree | 0% | 50% | 80% |
You can use the government’s online Support at Home fee estimator to get an idea of what your contribution rates might be.
Grandfathered clients and the “no worse off” policy
What it means for people who have a Home Care Package
People who have previously received support under the Home Care Package (HCP) program or were approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024 are covered by the government’s no-worse-off principle. This means those participants will only be required to make the same contributions or less under the new Support At Home program.
You will continue to receive the same amount of funding, and you will make the same contributions or lower than you did under HCP program arrangements, even if you are re-assessed into a higher Support at Home classification at a later date.
If you are a Home Care Package recipient and you were not required by Services Australia to pay an income-tested care fee, you will not ever be required to make any contributions under Support at Home.
From 1 November 2025, these are the main things that will change for people who previously received a Home Care Package.
- Unspent funds – you will be able to keep any accrued funds you have saved, however from 1 November 2025 you will only be able to carry over $1,000 or 10% of each quarterly budget.
- You will retain the Home Care Package lifetime cap of contributions, indexed at $82,018. Once you have reached the cap, you no longer need to make any contribution to your Support at Home aged care. For other participants of Support at Home the cap is $130,000.
- If you are re-assessed to move into a higher classification, you won’t have to pay more than you did with your Home Care Package fees.
From 1 July 2026 the pricing for all Support at Home services will be set by the government across all providers.
Because your funding classification will only cover services that are included in your Care Plan, you may no longer be able to receive the same services or as many hours as you have before.
