How Much Will I Pay for Support at Home?

It depends on three things: what kind of help you get, your pension status, and how much help you use. Many people pay much less than they expect. Some services are fully funded by the government, and everything you pay counts towards a lifetime cap. 

This guide walks you through how it works under Support at Home, the government program that replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025, using our own published prices so you can see real numbers. 

At Chris Barnard Health, we’ve been helping Australians live well at home for more than 15 years, with one of the largest support at home care workforces in Victoria. We get asked about costs every day, so we’ve put the answers in one place. 

Step 1: Your services fall into three groups 

Under Support at Home, every service sits in one of three categories, and each one is treated differently when it comes to cost. 

Category	Examples	What you contribute
Clinical supports	Nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and (from 1 October 2026) personal care such as showering and dressing	Nothing. Fully funded by the government
Independence	Social support and accompanied outings, transport, respite, assistive technology	A low contribution, based on your means
Everyday living	Cleaning, laundry, gardening, meal preparation, shopping	The highest contribution, based on your means

 

Good news on personal care: from 1 October 2026, approved personal care services (like help with showering, dressing and continence) moved into clinical supports. That means you no longer pay a contribution for them, as long as they’re in your support plan and you have funds available in your budget. Personal care delivered before 1 October may still show a contribution on your statement. 

Step 2: Your pension status sets your rate 

Services Australia works out your contribution rate based on whether you receive the Age Pension, and on an assessment of your income and assets. 

Your situation	Clinical (incl. personal care)	Independence	Everyday living
Full pensioner	0%	5%	17.5%
Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder	0%	5% to 50%	17.5% to 80%
Self-funded retiree	0%	50%	80%

 

The percentage is applied to the price of each service. The government pays the rest. 

If you’re a part pensioner or hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, your exact rate depends on your income and assets. Your home isn’t counted in the assets test. To find out your rate, complete the income and assets assessment with Services Australia. If you don’t, you may be charged the highest rates. 

Step 3: What that looks like in real dollars 

Here’s what one hour of help costs at our standard weekday rates, and what you’d contribute. 

Service (1 hour, weekday)	Our price	Full pensioner pays	Self-funded retiree pays
Registered nurse visit	$200.00	$0	$0
Personal care (e.g. showering)	$116.00	$0	$0
Social support or accompanied outing	$116.00	$5.80	$58.00
House cleaning	$116.00	$20.30	$92.80
Gardening	$125.00	$21.88	$100.00

 

Evening, weekend and public holiday rates are higher. You can see them all on our Support at Home pricing page. 

Please note: our services are booked in blocks of at least two hours. This gives your support worker time to do things properly, without rushing, so you get more from every visit. Your Care Partner can help you make the most of that time, for example by combining cleaning and meal preparation in one visit. 

Under Support at Home, the government sets aside 10% of your quarterly budget for care management. This covers the work your Care Partner does to keep your care on track: phone calls, care plan reviews, file reviews and monthly check-ins. And when we manage your services for you, there’s no invoice processing fee. 

After your aged care assessment, you’re given one of eight Support at Home classifications. Each comes with a quarterly budget. When the program started in November 2025, budgets ranged from about $10,700 a year (Classification 1) to about $78,100 a year (Classification 8). They’re indexed each year. 

You can carry over up to $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget, whichever is higher, into the next quarter. If your needs grow beyond your budget, you can ask for a reassessment. 

There’s a lifetime cap on contributions. As at 20 September 2026 it’s $140,652.80. Once you reach it, you won’t pay any more contributions. The cap is shared with any non-clinical care contributions you pay in residential aged care, and it’s indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year. 

You’re protected by the “no worse off” principle. If you were receiving, assessed as eligible for, or on the waitlist for a Home Care Package on 12 September 2024, you’ll pay the same as or less than you did under your old package: 

• Full pensioners: 0% for all services 

• Part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders: 0% to 25%, depending on income 

• Self-funded retirees: 25% 

A lower lifetime cap also applies: $88,934.57 as at 20 September 2026. 

You may be eligible for financial hardship assistance through Services Australia, which can reduce what you pay. Please don’t go without care because of cost. Talk to us, and we’ll help you work through your options.

1. Use the My Aged Care fee estimator at myagedcare.gov.au/support-at-home-fee-estimator for a personalised estimate. 

1. Complete your income and assets assessment with Services Australia so you’re charged the right rate. 

1. Ask us for a costed plan. Before you start, we’ll show you exactly which services you’ll receive, what each one costs, and what you’ll contribute. 

Aged care is confusing enough. We work hard to make sure you always know where your money is going. 

• Clear monthly statements. Every month you’ll get a simple statement showing your budget, what’s been spent, and what the government paid compared with what you contributed. We’ve made our statements easy to read on purpose. We’re not trying to trip you up. 

• A dedicated Care Partner. Your Care Partner gets to know your needs and checks in at least once a month to review your services and adjust them if something isn’t working. 

• Help making the most of your budget. Unspent funds over the carry-over limit don’t roll into the next quarter. Before the end of each quarter, your Care Partner will help you use your budget well, for example with extra cleaning, meal preparation, allied health appointments or a plan review. 

• Private Support at Home options. If you’re waiting for government funding, or your budget doesn’t stretch far enough, you can pay privately for services or top up what you receive. There are no exit fees or hidden fees. 

• Real people, around the clock. Our team is on call 24/7, and you’ll always speak with a person, not a bot. 

• No lock-in. If you’re ever unhappy, you only need to give two weeks’ notice to change providers. We’ll always try to make things right first, but we’ll never make it hard to leave. 

• A familiar face. You’ll typically see the same support worker for around 80% of visits, from our own in-house team, not agency staff. 

Working out aged care costs can feel overwhelming. Our team can walk you through your options, explain your contribution rate, and show you a costed plan before you commit. That’s what we mean by  

Call us on 1300 602 469 or email homecare@chrisbarnardhealth.com 

This article is general information only and current as at 11 November 2026. Contribution rates, thresholds and budgets change regularly. Check My Aged Care or speak with Services Australia for advice about your circumstances. 

Natasha Prime-Stagler  

Marketing and Community Engagement Coordinator