With the introduction of the Aged Care Act (2024), government-subsidised home care programs have changed. On 1 November 2025, the Department of Health, Disability & Ageing has commenced the new (Support at Home) program that replaced the previous Home Care Packages program.
Australian Government has developed the new Support at Home program to implement key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and to create a new program that is more accessible to older people and financially sustainable from a government funding perspective.
Support at Home includes several existing in-home aged care programs, with changes staged as follows:
- SaH has replaced the Home Care Packages (HCP) and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) programs from 1 November 2025,
- From July 2027 (date – to be confirmed) SaH will also include the Commonwealth Home Support
Programme (CHSP).
Services available under Support at Home
Support at Home ongoing quarterly budget covers the following service types:
Clinical Supports Independence Everyday Living
• Nursing • Personal care • Domestic Assistance
• Allied health • Social support & community engagement • Gardening
• Wound care • Therapeutic services • Home Maintenance & repairs
• Nutrition • Transport • Meals
• Care management • Respite care
Please refer to Support at Home services to see a full list of the services under this program.
In addition, clients will have access to short-term pathways services:
- Assistive technology – includes equipment or products that help a client to do things more easily or complete activities they can no longer do independently,
- Home modifications – provides changes to a client’s home environment related to participant’s support and health needs to make it safer and more accessible,
- Restorative care – provides a short-term period of care of up to 16 weeks, with an aim to maintain or regain function and to reduce or prevent functional decline,
- End-of-life care – provides additional support for those with a prognosis of three months or less to live, aiming to help a person remain at home for as long as possible.
Support at Home participant groups
Support at Home program divides participants into three different groups, depending on their historical Home Care Packages program status and dates of package assignment. A group that a client was assigned to by Support at Home program rules, defines client contribution levels payable under Support at Home program.
Services of “Grandfathered” and “Hybrid” clients will continue be funded under Transitioned HCP levels, whereas all “Newbies” clients are funded under one of eight SaH classification levels.
Participant Groups Criteria for group allocation Funding arrangement Client contribution
Participants transitioned from HCP to SaH“Grandfathered” Receiving HCP or approved for HCP on or before 12 Sep 2024 Transitioned HCP
level 1-4No contribution or discounted under “no worse off” principle
“Hybrid” Approved for HCP between 13 Sep 2024 and 1 Nov 2025 Transitioned HCP
level 1-4New SaH contribution rates
New SaH Participants “Newbies” Approved for SaH classification on or after 1 Nov 2025 SaH
Classification 1-8New SaH contribution rates
*”Hybrid” clients have elements of both programs—Home Care Packages (HCP) and Support at Home (SaH). They retain the existing HCP funding level, Care Plan, and remaining unspent HCP funds from the old HCP program. However, they must pay a client contribution for care under the new SaH rules. Thus, these clients will be dealing with a “hybrid” of the two programs, which explains the terminology used here.
^In accordance with the “no worse off” principle, which applies only to “Grandfathered” clients.
Funding classifications* (as at 1 November 2025)
Clients transitioned from HCP program have the following ongoing funding levels:
Transitioned HCP Level Annual budget Quarterly budget
Level 1 $10,986 $2,746
Level 2 $19,319 $4,829
Level 3 $42,055 $10,513
Level 4 $63,758 $15,939
*Refer to “Support at Home participant groups” section below to understand how Transitioned levels and Classification levels are applied
New Support at Home clients will have access to the following ongoing funding levels:
SaH Classification Level Annual budget Quarterly budget
1 $10,731 $2,682
2 $16,034 $4,008
3 $21,965 $5,491
4 $29,696 $7,424
5 $39,697 $9,924
6 $48,114 $12,028
7 $58,147 $14,537
8 $78,106 $19,526
Funding classifications – Short-term pathways
Assistive Technology (AT) Home Modifications (HM)
• Three tiers of funding from $500 and up to $15,000, dependent on assessment outcome
• 12 months to spend allocated funding
• Covers cost of equipment/products and wrap around services e.g. allied health practitioner’s prescription, equipment setup and delivery costs• Three tiers of funding from $500 and up to $15,000, dependent on assessment outcome
• 12 months to spend allocated funding
• Covers cost of modification and wrap around services e.g. Occupational Therapy home assessment
Clients transitioned from HCP program must use any unspent HCP funds carried over to SaH program before they can spend new funds allocated under AT-HM funding tiers as above.
Restorative Care pathway
- Offers up to 16 weeks of care
- Eligible clients can access the pathway twice within a 12-month period, but not in consecutive quarters
- The standard budget for the 16-week program is around $6,000, with the potential for an additional $6,000 where needed.
End-of-life pathway
- Offers better support for people who are nearing the end of life and need a palliative care
- Will provide the highest daily funding level under SaH, with participants receiving up to $25,000 over a three-month period (a total of 12 weeks to use the funds)
- Eligibility: a clinical practitioner has advised an estimated life expectancy of less than 3 months.
Key program changes brought by Support at Home
Home Care Packages (HCP) Support at Home (SaH)
Number of package levels 4 8
Max annual funding available, as at 1 Nov 25) $63,758 (Level 4) $78,106 (Classification 8)
Client budgets Termless Quarterly
Funding categories Single category Three categories, with different client contribution levels
Unspent funds rollover Unlimited Max $1,000 or 10% of quarterly budget between quarters*
Assistive Technology/ Home Modification
(AT-HM) expensesComing from overall package/ require fund savings A separate budget will cover AT-HM needs, under short-term pathways
Care management fee Capped at 20% Capped at 10% and allocated into a separate funding pool
Package management fee Capped at 15% Removed, with admin costs included into service prices
Client contribution Fixed Income Tested Care Fee, not tied to service quantity Income tested variable contribution also depending on service quantity and type of service^
* In addition, clients transitioned from HCP have retain their current unspent funds and have access to them under the Support at Home program.
^ Based on the “no-worse off” principle, ”grandfathered” clients will retain the client contribution level they currently pay. This means if a transitioned HCP client did not pay a contribution under HCP program, they will not pay any contribution under Support at Home. And those who paid an Income Tested Care Fee, pay the same or a lower amount than they paid under HCP.
Get in touch with us today to find out more about this program.
