How funding is allocated

Support at Home is a government funded aged care program. The funding your parent receives is based on their assessed needs, not their income. The greater the aged care need, the higher the support classification, and the larger the home care budget.

Your parent’s needs are assessed through My Aged Care. An assessor evaluates what personal care, nursing care at home, domestic assistance, respite care, dementia support, and other home care services your elderly parent requires to continue ageing in place safely.

Once assessed, your parent is placed into a support classification. Each classification comes with an annual home care budget that covers the cost of their aged care at home.

What the budget covers

Your parent’s Support at Home budget can be used for a wide range of home care services.

• Personal care – Showering, dressing, grooming, toileting, and mobility assistance.
• Nursing care at home – Wound care, medication management, and clinical monitoring.
• Domestic assistance – Cleaning, laundry, meal preparation, and shopping.
• Respite care – Temporary home care support so family carers can rest.
• Allied health – Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and podiatry.
• Home modifications – Grab rails, ramps, and safety modifications.

Not everything is covered. Your aged care provider can explain what falls inside and outside your parent’s Support at Home budget based on their specific assessment.

What your parent pays

Support at Home is government funded, but it is not free. Your parent may be required to make a contribution toward their home care costs depending on their financial situation.

Base contribution: Most home care clients pay a base contribution regardless of income. This is a set amount determined by the government.

Income tested contribution: If your parent’s income is above a certain threshold, they may be required to pay an additional income tested contribution. This is assessed by Services Australia, not by the aged care provider.

No one is refused home care because of cost: If your parent cannot afford their contribution, hardship provisions exist. The system is designed so that financial barriers do not prevent older Australians from accessing the aged care services they need.

Your approved aged care provider should explain all fees clearly before home care services begin. If they cannot give you a transparent breakdown of what your parent will pay, that is a reason to look elsewhere.

How this differs from the old system

	Home Care Packages (old)	Support at Home (new)
Funding structure	Four fixed levels (Level 1 to 4)	Flexible, needs based classifications
How funding is set	Based on package level	Based on individual aged care assessment
Services covered	Set range per level	Broader range including allied health and home modifications
Contributions	Basic daily fee plus income tested fee	Updated contribution framework
Waiting	National queue for each level	Needs based allocation
Provider choice	Choose any approved aged care provider	Same, your parent chooses their home care provider
Existing clients	Remained on assigned package level	Transitioned automatically, no loss of funding or aged care provider

If your elderly parent was on a Home Care Package before the transition, their aged care services continue under Support at Home. Existing home care clients do not lose their funding or their aged care provider during the changeover.

Why your choice of aged care provider matters

Your parent’s Support at Home budget is only as good as the home care provider who manages it. A provider who charges high administration fees eats into your parent’s home care budget. A provider with a small aged care workforce cannot deliver consistent home care visits or continuity of care. A provider without aged care specific staff cannot match the right care worker to your elderly parent.

Workforce depth, transparent fees, and genuine carer matching are what turn a Support at Home budget into quality home care that your parent actually benefits from.

Chris Barnard Health and Support at Home

Chris Barnard Health is an approved aged care provider and registered NDIS provider delivering Support at Home and home care services across Melbourne, regional Victoria, and Tasmania. Our aged care specific workforce of more than 1,000 aged care professionals means consistent carers, reliable home care visits, and transparent home care costs from a provider that started as a specialist nursing agency in 2010.

If you want a clear breakdown of Support at Home funding for your parent, call 1300 602 469. It is what Melbourne’s leading and largest aged care specific workforce was built for. So your parent’s home care budget works harder, not disappears into fees.